


"BEAST HOUSE"

by EvilAdmin



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: A Horror/Mystery/Suspense Tale, Alternate Universe, Bottom Will, Dubious Consent, I don't want to give too much away, M/M, Mentions of Past Child Molestation/Incest, Minor Character Death, Multi, Multiple Partners, Other, Profanity, Rape/Non-con Elements, Slightly Unusual Genitalia, Slow building plot, Smut, Top Hannibal, Violence, expendable OCs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-19 03:18:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7342504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilAdmin/pseuds/EvilAdmin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Will Graham receives a call from Jack Crawford informing him that Garrett Jacob Hobbs has been released from prison, Will takes his niece Abigail and they flee Wolf Trap knowing that he’ll come looking for her.  But when car trouble lands them in a small town called Peculiar, it seems like a nice town and the people there act friendly, but soon Will begins to suspect that things aren’t what they appear.  For one thing what this small town is known for is a tourist attraction called Beast House where several people have died, torn apart by some kind of a beast, and the beast has never been caught.  In the meantime, Garrett Jacob Hobbs is on their trail and the longer they’re in Peculiar, the closer he gets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy summer everyone! The idea for this story was inspired by Richard Laymon’s first ever novel “The Cellar” published back in 1980. This story does contain some dark subject matter, so please read the tags before you proceed. I’m opening with two chapters so you get a real feel for the story. If you like these two chapters I hope you’ll join me nightly as the story unfolds. Thank you for reading, and Welcome to Beast House.

** PROLOGUE **

Zane stopped and looked behind him for his partner in crime who was at least five steps back and looking scared shitless.  “Come on, David!” he whispered.  “Move your ass, you fucking pussy!  We don’t have all night, you know.”  Zane wasn’t sure why he was whispering since he knew the house was empty, but something about this house was just making him feel on edge. 

“Well it’s dark in here, asshole, and you have the flashlight,” David whispered back, inwardly cringing at the tremor in his own voice. 

“Well keep up and that won’t be a problem.  We just need to get to the second floor, grab our prize, and get the hell out of here before anyone’s the wiser.  So man-the-fuck-up and we’ll be out of here before you know it. The guys back at the frat house are going to shit a brick when they see what we bring back.  I say we leave it in Franklyn’s bed all covered up, and when he sees the lump in his bed and pulls back the covers he is going to piss his pants.” 

“Fine, fine.  Let’s just get it and get the hell out of here.  This old house was creepy enough during the tour in broad daylight, much less prowling around it in the middle of the fucking night in the dark.  And if someone sees your flashlight and calls the cops, I’ll let you deal with my mom when the shit hits the fan, you dick.”

“Pipe down, you whinny baby.  Now, if I remember right we turn left at the top of the stairs and it’s the last door on the right.” 

When they reached the end of the hall Zane opened the door, which led to a bedroom, and cringed at how loud it creaked in the quiet of the house.  Even though he knew no one actually lived in the house now, the sound was still unnerving.  However, Zane perked up when he spotted what he was looking for. 

“Yeah, this is the one I want!” he said excitedly, shining the flashlight beam on the realistically mangled and bloodied wax figure of Rose Davenport, one of the victims killed by the mysterious beast of Beast House, the tourist attraction they had broken into.     

“Fan-freaking-tastic.  Now grab it and let’s go.  We’re going to get caught and arrested, I just know it.” 

“We’re not going to get caught.  Tomorrow morning bright and early we’ll be on the road headed back to Cambridge before they even notice it’s missing.  So come on and help me with it.” 

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.  I must have been out of my friggin mind to …  What was that?” David said nervously. 

“What was what?” 

“That sound above us.” 

“Probably just rats in the attic,” Zane said.  “You’re always going to find rats in a house this old.” 

“There it is again,” David said.  “That doesn’t sound like rats to me!”    

“That’s weird.” Zane said frowning.  “It sounds like feet dragging across the floor.” 

“ _Not rats then!_ ” David whispered, his voice taking on an edge of panic.  _“Let’s get the hell out of here!”_  

“What, afraid it’s the _beast_?” Zane taunted. 

“I don’t know what the hell it is, but something’s been killing people in this house for years.  It could be a Freddy-fucking-Krueger wannabe shredding these people for all I know, but I don’t want to find out, so let’s just go— _now!_   Just forget the fucking manikin,” David said sounding desperate now. 

“I say we go up and check it out.  If they got some kind of psycho living in the attic and we can prove it, then we’ll blow this fucking freak show scam right outta the water and be heroes.  We’ll be on the news and they’ll have us on talk shows.  We’ll be rich!” 

“Or, we’ll be dead!  I am not going up into the attic, and I don’t think you should either.  Just leave the manikin and let’s go.  _Please!_ ” David said begging, his panic growing.   

“You know what?  You need to grow a bigger set,” Zane said, going over and grabbing a poker from the fireplace, feeling his adrenaline kicking up a notch.  “That’s why you never made the football team like me, because you’re afraid to take chances.  If you want to stay down here, that’s fine, but I’m gonna go and see what’s up there.  And if it is the infamous beast of Beast House, I’m gonna kill it and become famous.  You just stay down here where it’s nice and safe, you little pansy-ass chicken shit.” 

Zane walked down to the opposite end of the hallway and turned left where a set of steps led up to what he assumed was an attic.  As soon as he turned the corner David suddenly found himself standing alone in the dark more afraid than he had ever been in his life.  He could hear his own ragged breathing in the quiet.  The whole thing felt surreal, like he was having a nightmare and if he could just wake up he’d find himself back at the frat house safe and sound in bed.  He had half a mind to find his way downstairs and leave Zane behind.  If Zane wanted to be stupid, that was on him.  He was just about to leave when he heard a sound that froze his blood.  It sounded like a deep, throaty _he-he-he_.  That was definitely not Zane. 

David started down the hallway toward the attic stairs brushing his trembling hand along the wall to keep his equilibrium in the dark.  When he reached the bottom of the attic stairs he whispered, “ _Zane!_ ”  There was no answer.  He was standing there debating whether he should run or call the cops when something came hurtling straight at him from the top of the stairs, cutting his scream short as it slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.  That something was Zane.  He could tell because the flashlight was still clutched in his hand in some sort of a death grip and it was currently pointed toward his face showing eyes wide open in shock and his mouth frozen in a silent scream.  It also showed that his throat had been ripped out, which is why, David realized, he hadn’t screamed. 

David was trembling so hard now that his teeth were chattering.  There was blood everywhere and David was now coated in it.  He shoved Zane’s body off him and swallowed hard against the nausea trying to overtake him as he scrambled to get up. 

Trying not to panic despite his heart trying to hammer its way out of chest, he started backing away from the attic doorway with his back pressed against the wall while fumbling for his cell phone so he could call 9-1-1 and get help out here.  His hands were shaking so hard he couldn’t see the numbers.  His eyes kept darting to the attic doorway.  Then he heard the sound again, that raspy _he-he-he_ and the hair stood up all over his body as he realized that whatever just made that noise was standing right inside the darkened doorway just out of sight.  He forgot all about staying calm, he forgot about his cell phone; his only thought was to get the hell out of the house and away from whatever had just killed his friend and never set eyes on this godforsaken place again. 

He never made it off the second floor.  The following day the news would break that the beast of Beast House had claimed two more victims, bringing the total death count to 12. 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thursday evening three weeks later …_ **

Will Graham hung up the phone, anger and panic warring within him in equal parts.  _Goddamnit, goddamnit_ , he muttered.  “Abigail!” he shouted, heading toward her room.  _“ABIGAIL!”_  

“What?  Why are you shouting?” Abigail asked frowning as she appeared in the doorway of her room.  Then she got a good look at his face.  “What’s wrong?” 

“That was Jack on the phone.  The judge turned your father loose.” 

“ _WHAT!_   How can that be?” Abigail said, looking decidedly pale and panicked now herself. 

“Three words:  Freddie…fucking…Lounds,” Will gritted out through his teeth. 

“Why? What did she do?” Abigail asked, looking confused now. 

Will sighed.  “When the FBI was in your father’s hunting cabin sweeping it for evidence, I found one of Freddie’s hairs.  Somehow Freddie beat us there and photographed the whole thing for that article she posted on _Tattlecrime.com_ , “Inside the Shrike’s Nest.”  Anyway, the FBI decided to let people assume she got in there after us, but somehow his lawyer found out she got there ahead of us and convinced the judge that since Freddie was in the cabin before the FBI she contaminated the crime scene and could have planted any of the evidence they found, so the judge had to throw out all that evidence as inadmissible.  That plus another couple of loopholes his scumbag lawyer found, and so the judge dismissed the case.” 

“But he killed my mom!  How could they turn him loose after he slit my mom’s throat!” 

“No one witnessed it and there was no evidence.  You were out when it happened and his lawyer is saying that your mom came home and surprised a prowler.  They never found the knife your father used.  Look, we’ll talk about this in the car, but right now I need you to pack and be ready to leave in 15 minutes.” 

“What’s the rush?,” Abigail asked looking really freaked out now.

“Jack said he got stuck in a meeting with Kade Prurnell and didn’t have a chance to call me till now.  Your father was released three hours ago.  He could be headed this way right now.” 

“Well, can’t the FBI protect us?  I mean, you work for them.  Why can’t they send some agents to keep an eye out for him?” 

“Jack said he asked Kade Prurnell to post a couple of agents, and she told him that since the court turned him loose they can’t justify the expense of putting agents on the lookout for a supposedly innocent man.  If he had escaped and was wanted by the law, that would be a different matter.” 

“I don’t believe this,” Abigail said as she ran back in her room.  She didn’t want to see her father any more than Will did.  She knew he had killed her mother and she knew why, the sick bastard.  She shuddered as the reality of why he’d be coming here sunk in.  She packed faster.  Only in America would a fucking lawyer even attempt to get someone like the Minnesota Strike back out on the streets. 

Will ran in his room and grabbed a duffel bag out of the closet and started throwing in socks and underwear, t-shirts and pants, a couple flannel shirts, one dress shirt.  He ran in the kitchen and got a couple of large Ziploc bags and ran in the bathroom and threw his toothbrush and toothpaste and razor and other toiletries in one. 

“I left a Ziploc bag in the bathroom for your toothbrush and stuff,” he yelled out to Abigail.  He would leave it to her to grab what she needed.  He still had a hard time finding girl products, such as tampons and pink razors, in his bathroom.  His life as a bachelor had changed so much in the last six months since he had taken his niece in after her father had been arrested, accused of being the Minnesota Shrike, and also accused of killing Abigail’s mother, Will’s only sibling.    

Will ran out to the barn and got a medium-sized cooler he had out there.  He went back into the house and tossed in what ice he had in the freezer, and then checked the refrigerator to see what they could bring along.  There were some cheese sticks, some lunch meat, mustard and fruit cups.  He threw in some cans of soda.  He grabbed a plastic grocery bag and tossed in a half a loaf of bread and some potato chips, Ritz crackers and some Twinkies, the typical food of a bachelor and teenage girl.  Then he grabbed the grocery bag, cooler and his duffel bag and ran for the door. 

“You about ready!” he shouted as he grabbed his handgun and a box of bullets out of the desk sitting next to the door and stuffed those into his duffel bag before running out the door to the car. 

Abigail rushed out right behind him with her backpack slug over her shoulder and a plastic garbage bag that must be full of her clothes and things.  Will remembered now that when she came to live with him she had come with just a bag of clothes and a few personal items.  After that she had never wanted to go back to her old home again, and, truth be told, he hadn’t wanted to either, not after what had happened to her in that house. 

“That everything?” he asked as he tried to think of anything he might be forgetting that they would need.  She nodded, so he went back on the porch and locked the front door.  This was futile really as he knew Garrett Jacob Hobbs would just break in when he got here, but he did it anyway. 

“What about my car?” Abigail asked. 

“I don’t want us separated.  We’ll have to make due with just the one for now and we’ll see about picking you up another one when we find a place to settle down.” 

Abigail threw her stuff into the back seat as Will started the car.  He pulled the car up to the road, looking left and right.  No one in sight.  He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and then turned right onto the county road.  Once they were actually moving Will felt a lot better, but he wouldn’t be able to fully relax until they had put at least a hundred miles between themselves and Wolf Trap, Virginia where he knew Garrett Jacob Hobbs was probably headed this very minute. 

“Where will we go?” Abigail asked looking over at him. 

“I have no idea.  We’ll just head west and find a town to settle in where he’ll never find us.  Hopefully he’ll get arrested again and they’ll put him away for good this time.  I’ll have to stop at the bank and withdraw some money.  We’re going to have to live off the grid for a while.  I don’t want to leave any kind of clues that can help him track us down.  After today no credit cards, no unnecessary phone calls—nothing that can lead him to us.  You have a new cell phone and he doesn’t have the number so he can’t try to call you.  Do not tell any of your friends where we are.  I already informed Jack that we were headed out to parts unknown and that I wouldn’t be in touch with him for a while.” 

As they left the city limits of Wolf Trap, Will felt the tightness in his chest loosen a little bit.  The next town over Will stopped at the bank and cleaned out his savings account of a whopping $3,038.  He had had a lot more before Abigail came to live with him, but had spent quite a bit when he took her in.  For one thing, he had to have an additional room built onto his home so that she would have her own bedroom.  Then she had needed a new bed.  He certainly wasn’t going to have her sleeping in the same bed that her father had been molesting her in all these years. 

Will still had trouble believing that.  His fucking brother-in-law, who he had sat across from at holiday dinners and who had seemed like such a good father and husband, had been molesting his daughter since she was a child.  How had his sister not seen it?  Or had she seen it and turned a blind eye?  These were questions that haunted him and would never be answered since his sister was dead now, killed by the man in question.  The whole truth had come out after the FBI had him in custody.  Garrett Jacob Hobbs had been molesting his own daughter since she was eight, and when he found out his little girl was going off to college and leaving him, he had gone crazy and started killing girls who looked like her.  He hadn’t confessed to it, but this is what the FBI had been able to piece together.  Abigail had emotionally admitted to the molestation after her mother was dead and her father was in prison. 

Will was constantly combing his own memories wondering if there were clues he should have seen.  Like the one year he visited at Thanksgiving when Abigail was around nine and she had cried when he’d tried to hug her.  Should this have been a clue?  Hell, he wasn’t a father; he didn’t know all the different stages kids went through. 

When they initially took Garrett Jacob Hobbs to trial, Will, Abigail and Abigail’s lawyer had agreed that with all the charges of murder against her father that there was no need to bring up charges of sexual abuse.  It would have only put Abigail more in the spotlight than she already was and embarrassed her greatly.  With how things had turned out Will supposed they had erred in that regard.  However, what’s done was done and couldn’t be undone now, but he’d burn in hell before he let that murdering pervert ever touch his niece again. 

Abigail was sitting quietly next to him.  

“You doing okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I guess,” she answered looking dejected.  “I just hate being uprooted again.  I was finally making some friends here and getting my life back on track, and now I have to move again.  He keeps screwing up my life.” 

“I know, I know.  But we have to think maybe this was meant to be.  Maybe we’ll end up somewhere where you’ll meet the man of your dreams,” Will teased.  But inwardly he was seething.  Abigail had decided to wait a year before attending college.  She was just too well known after all the publicity on the Minnesota Shrike case and they both had decided that waiting a year for things to cool down would be the right thing to do. 

Abigail had gotten a job as a waitress in town at a local restaurant and she was saving all the money she made for tuition and books.  She wanted to be a veterinarian someday, and Will liked that idea.  He had been thinking about getting a dog or two and he could picture her taking care of them.  She had been getting her life back on track and her father had just derailed her yet again. 

They had left Wolf Trap at 4:30 in the afternoon, just stopping at the bank and a quick stop at the gas station to fill up the tank of Will’s rather beat up 2009 Lexus, and Will wasn’t planning on stopping again until there were at least a couple hundred miles between them and where he knew Garrett Jacob Hobbs would be headed right this minute:  his home. 

*     *     *

It was after midnight when Garrett Jacob Hobbs arrived at his brother-in-law’s house in Wolf Trap.  The lights were all out and he might have thought that they were sleeping except for the fact that Will’s navy blue Lexus was missing.  His daughter’s car was there though and that gave him some hope.  The house was in the middle of nowhere so there was no need for stealth. 

He tried the front door and it was locked.  He went around to the back door and it was locked as well, but the door had one of those four-paned windows in it, so he busted one of the panes out and carefully put his arm through, avoiding the jagged glass, and unlocked the door.  He heard no sounds of movement.  After a quick search he saw that no one was home, and there were signs of hasty packing.  He had suspected that if Will found out about his release he would take Abigail and run for it. 

He found some duct tape and a piece of cardboard and covered the window he had broken out.  At least he had a place to stay while he looked for clues as to where they might have gone, and he had no doubt that he would find them sooner or later. 

After he went to the kitchen and found something to eat he went to the room he knew was his daughter’s with the lavender sheets and stuffed animals on the bed.  He walked around and examined and touched everything.  He looked through her drawers and was disappointed when he didn’t find any underwear, but when he went in the bathroom he found a pair of hot pink nylon panties in the hamper. 

He went back to Abigail’s room and stripped and got into her bed and grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it to his chest and inhaled deeply.  He smelled her favorite coconut shampoo on the pillow and became instantly aroused.  He buried his nose in the panties and inhaled them deeply as well, then wrapped them and his hand around his cock.  He stroked himself and pictured her in the bed under him:  so young, so soft, so unresisting.  He closed his eyes and rutted on the pillow as he imagined burying himself between his little girl’s thighs.  Oh, how he had missed her. 

As he moved against the pillow and rubbed the panties up and down his cock faster and faster, getting some nice friction from the nylon, he swore that he would get her back.  Oh, yes, he would get his girl back and he would tie that interfering uncle of hers to a chair and let him watch while he fucked his girl; then when he was done he would let Abigail watch as he slit her uncle’s throat and he bled out like a pig.  Getting more aroused as he pictured both of those things, Garrett Jacob Hobbs moaned and bucked his hips and came hard all over himself and his daughter’s coconut-scented pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll join me tomorrow night for the next chapter of "BEAST HOUSE."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of you who commented and kudoed. It really means a lot to me. My hope is by the time you finish this chapter you will be intrigued, if I've done my job well. Happy reading!

**_ Friday _ **

Abigail woke to the sun coming through the windshield and a slight kink in her neck.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  It was going to be another gorgeous, hot July summer day. 

“Have you been driving all night?” she asked yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  “Where are we exactly?” 

“Yes, and we just entered the southern tip of Illinois.  I think we can start to relax now.  I’ll find us a place where we can have some breakfast, and the plan is to drive till about 3:00 this afternoon and then find a hotel where we can unwind a bit and turn in early.  I’m definitely going to need a shower soon.” 

“I’ll say,” Abigail said teasingly while waving her hand in front of her nose. 

Will looked over at her and smiled.  He was glad that she felt relaxed enough to tease him, and he was feeling much better now that they had put several states between them and Garrett Jacob Hobbs. 

Will saw a 24-hour restaurant called _The Original Pancake House_ next to a gas station and pulled into the lot.  Pancakes and about a gallon of coffee sounded good this morning.  Then they would gas up the car and be on their way. 

After breakfast Will let Abigail take a turn at driving so he could get some rest.  When it was close to 3:00 they found a _Days Inn_ and stopped for the night.  They got one room with two singles as it was cheaper and Will was still paranoid about letting Abigail out of his sight.  He called dibs on the shower as soon as they entered the room and felt much better afterwards.  Abigail showered next, and then they walked down the street to a McDonald’s they had spotted a short distance away. 

They turned in early, both exhausted from all the driving and the stress they had been through in the last 24 hours. 

*     *     *

Garrett Jacob Hobbs tore Will’s house apart looking for some clue as to where they might have gone.  He thought perhaps that Will might own a fishing cabin somewhere since fishing seemed to be his passion, but he found no evidence of one.  He did find some phone bills, however, and when he looked through them he noticed a few calls placed to a Minnesota area code— _his_ old area code.  As he thought about this he remembered that Abigail used to be close to that neighbor girl, Marissa Schurr.  It was possible she was still in touch with her.  That would be a good place to start. 

He hadn’t found any guns in Will’s home but he did find a couple of nice sharp knives that Will must use for gutting fish.  He decided to take them with him as he might need them for gutting something else—namely his meddlesome brother-in-law. 

Since the car he was driving was stolen he decided to take Abigail’s car.  Fortunately there was a spare set of keys on a hook by the door.  Thank you Will Graham, boy scout, for always being prepared with a spare set.  He got in Abigail’s car and headed for Minnesota.  He had Abigail’s pillow in the back seat. 

 

**_ Saturday _ **

The next morning Will and Abigail got up early, and after enjoying the hotel’s complimentary breakfast of coffee and a cinnamon roll, they headed out. 

While they were driving across Missouri Will thought it was time to discuss where they were going to end up.  “Any druthers on what state you’d like to live in?” Will asked Abagail. 

“What about California where all the movie stars live?  Maybe I’ll be discovered and become a famous movie star and marry Robert Pattinson.” 

“Who?” 

“Robert …  Oh, forget it.  I forget sometimes how _old_ you are.” 

“Ancient.  I placed an order for dentures and a hearing aid just the other day,” he teased. 

“Ha-ha, very funny.” 

“But seriously, how about we pick someplace that won’t drain our funds in a week’s time.  I’ll tell you what, why don’t you go on that phone of yours and google which states have the best veterinarian colleges.  That might be a good place to start.” 

While Abigail began her google search, Will saw road signs that they were getting close to Kansas.  Maybe Kansas would be a good place to live.  They could stop at a couple towns and see if there was a need for teachers since he did have a teaching degree.  He wondered in hindsight if maybe they shouldn’t have headed south toward warm climes and the ocean.  There he could have gone back to his past trade fixing boat engines.  Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check out a few Midwestern towns.  If that didn’t pan out they could always change course and head south.  Abigail would be able to find a job as a waitress wherever they ended up.  The good thing about waitresses is they’re always in demand wherever you go.  

However, before they reached the Kansas border Will saw steam coming from the hood of the car, and when he checked the temperature gauge he saw that it was in the hot zone. 

“Shoot, this is a real problem.  We’re going to have to pull into the next town and find a mechanic and have this checked out,” Will said while looking for the next exit off Route 70.  Finally he spotted an exit up ahead and took it.  When he reached the bottom of the exit ramp he had a choice of going right or left.  There was a sign pointing left that said “Peculiar 2 miles” and no sign indicating if there was a town in the other direction.  Looking around there was nothing but open farm land as far as the eye could see.  This didn’t look promising, but Will turned left toward Peculiar.

“Peculiar,” Abigail said.  “What kind of a name is that for a town?” 

“Maybe it’s a commentary on its citizens,” Will said jokingly.  But as they drove the two miles and reached the city limits they saw a sign that said, _WELCOME TO PECULIAR, WHERE THE ‘ODDS’ ARE WITH YOU._

Will and Abigail exchanged a brief look.  “Oh boy,” Abigail said. 

The sign also said the population of Peculiar was only 402, and looking up ahead it looked small, a bit old fashioned.  It looked like the kind of town you might have expected to see 20 years ago.  It had a wide main street down the middle with buildings and shops on either side of the street; then on either side of the main street was another street, although those two streets looked like they only had one row of buildings facing outward.  Will could actually see the end of the main street where it dead ended.  The whole town seemed to be in the shape of a rectangle.  There was a small hill to the right side of town, and what appeared to be open fields and farmland surrounding the rest of the town with just a few random houses outside the borders of the town itself.  There were no buildings anywhere over three stories tall. 

Will spotted a gas station right inside the city limits but noticed it only had two gas pumps.  He crossed his fingers that they would have a mechanic on staff.  He pulled in and parked off to the side where he saw an open bay door with a car inside that had its hood up.  He gave a relieved sigh as his Lexus came to a shuddering halt and was immediately enveloped in steam. 

Will got out of the car and opened the hood, then took a t-shirt out of his duffel bag and carefully took the cap off the radiator to release the pressure.  Abigail backed away several yards from the car hoping it wasn’t going to blow up. 

Will walked over to the bay doors looking for the mechanic.  He didn’t see anyone around, and when he called out nobody responded, so he headed for the door to the small storefront and saw a sign hanging in the window, “Out to Lunch.”  _Small towns_ , Will thought and sighed.  But then he heard Abigail’s voice sounding angry cutting through the silence.  He ran back over to where she was and saw a slender, dark haired, twitchy little man cowering under her wrath. 

“What’s wrong?” Will said looking between Abigail and the man. 

“He tried to touch me!” Abigail said pointing at the cowering man with an indignant and slightly furious expression. 

Will looked over at the man who looked pretty harmless.  The man was looking up and down and from side to side but was shying away from eye contact.  Finally the man pointed over at Abigail and said “pretty.” 

Will took a deep breath.  Watching the man he had a strong feeling he wasn’t all there, but he had clearly upset Abagail.  Will decided to try talking to him.  “Hi, my name is Will and this is Abigail.  What’s your name?” 

Still looking anywhere but at him the man replied, “I’m P-Peter.  Peter Bernardone.” 

“Nice to meet you Peter.  Now, were you trying to touch my niece here?” 

Peter pointed at his own throat and then in the direction of Abigail’s and repeated “pretty,” still looking everywhere but at him.  Will thought he understood now.  Abigail was wearing a silver chain with a butterfly pendant.  This had apparently caught Peter’s eye. 

“Yes, Peter, it is pretty, but you can’t go around touching young women because it upsets them,” Will patiently explained. 

Peter looked down at his feet then and worried his hands together which, Will noticed, were encased in leather gloves even though it must be at least 90 degrees out right now.  “I’m s-sorry,” he said in a small voice. 

Will looked over at Abigail who had seemed to catch on now.  “It’s okay, Peter,” Will said.  “Do you happen to know where we might find the mechanic of this gas station?” 

Peter perked up instantly and said, “Oh, sure.  Randall is my cousin.  He’s over at the restaurant ha-having his lunch.” 

“Do you know when he’ll be back,” Will asked? 

“No,” Peter shook his head hard, looking at the ground.  “Can’t tell time.” 

“That’s okay, Peter.” 

 _It is lunchtime_ , Will thought looking at his own watch.  “Peter, could you maybe show us where the restaurant is?” 

“Sure!,” Peter said, and immediately started heading out, walking with a shuffling gait.  Will and Abigail followed closely behind. 

“Is he retarded?” Abigail whispered to Will.

“I don’t think that’s the politically correct term nowadays, but my guess is he is a bit … slow.” 

Peter led them a short distance down the main street which, Will noticed, was actually named Main Street, and pointed at the restaurant.  It was an attractive, welcoming two-story brick building that had a dark green awning with baskets of colorful flowers hanging on each side, a large plate glass window next to the door with “ _Savoureux_ ” written in gold scripted lettering on the glass, and a long wooden bench in front.  Looking through the window Will could see that the place was packed with the lunch crowd. 

“Peter, do you want some lunch?” Will offered, wondering if the man ate regularly.  He did look a bit thin. 

“Oh, no, Peter said.  I eat at my auntee’s house.”  And then he shuffled away without another word. 

“Okay, bye,” Will said to his retreating back. 

“Strange man,” Abigail said. 

They walked through the restaurant door and were hit with the wonderful aroma of fresh bread and spices.  Will could see why it was so crowded if the food tasted half as good as the place smelled.  However, the minute they stepped through the door the room fell into a hushed silence, and almost every eye in the place was suddenly focused on them.  Even the waitress with her arms full of plates had frozen in place and was giving them both the once over.  Will felt the urge to turn tail and run, but after a few seconds the faces turned back to their food and the conversation started up again, although in more subdued tones.  Will had the strangest feeling that he and Abigail were the topic of conversation now.  Abigail leaned toward him and under her breath did a rendition of the _Twilight Zone’s_ theme song:  doo- _de_ -do-do  doo- _de_ -do-do.     

There were booths up against the walls and tables set up around the middle, and a lunch counter toward the front where there was a large opening in the wall between the lunch counter and the kitchen where Will saw the cook stacking plates on a ledge where the waitress would pick them up and hand them out to the hungry patrons.  Whoever decorated the place had done a nice job.  It seemed kind of upscale but still managed to have a homey feel.  Will only saw one waitress though, so service was probably going to be slow.  He led Abigail up to the counter where he spotted two empty stools.  He grabbed a menu for himself and handed one to Abigail and scanned the menu options, which were surprisingly varied and unique. 

The waitress came over quicker than he was expecting with two glasses of ice water.  “Good afternoon,” she said smiling.  “Welcome to Peculiar.  Just arrived?” 

Will saw the name “Alana” stitched into her waitress outfit, which was a long-sleeved white shirt, black slacks and vest, and white gloves.  She was a very attractive woman, and she had her hair up in a sassy ponytail that swung back and forth every time she moved.  Will smiled at her and said “Good afternoon.  Yes, we arrived just a few minutes ago.  This is our first time here, so what do you recommend?” 

“Well, a lot of folks are partial to the soup and salad combination for lunch.  Hannibal, our cook, makes a mean French onion soup.” 

Will looked over at Abigail and she nodded.  “That sounds great,” he said closing his menu.  “We’ll have two of those, and two iced teas please.”   

“House dressing okay?” she said. 

“Uh, yeah, that’ll be fine.” 

Alana took the order ticket over to the opening leading to the kitchen and handed it off to the cook, who looked up at them and smiled.  Will smiled back.  He didn’t look like your typical small town cook.  He was tall and aristocratic looking with high cheekbones and perfect hair.  He was also wearing a long sleeved white dress shirt that was buttoned all the way up to his throat under a white cook’s apron.  There was another man working behind him who looked to be helping prep the food. 

Will took a sip of his ice water and turned his body in order to watch Alana walk away, her ponytail swinging as sassy as her hips.  She was beautiful, curvy, and had the cutest little overbite.  He must have been staring too long because Abigail poked him with her elbow and whispered, “I don’t think she’s on the menu.”  Will heard the cook chuckle and looked over at him and realized he must have overheard Abigail.  Will just blushed and shrugged his shoulders and grinned back at the cook. 

Will put his glasses on and was now giving the menu a closer look.  Many of the dishes were unfamiliar to him and had fancy names.  It seemed a bit exotic for a restaurant in a town that only had 402 people. 

His soup and salad appeared in front of him surprisingly fast, and he raised his head and thanked Alana.  The soup looked delicious with a thick layer of cheese melted on the top, and the salad was a mix of several different greens and vegetables. 

“Your cook seems to be a step above what you usually find in a town this small,” Will said to Alana while inhaling the delicious aroma of the soup. 

“Oh, he went to a fancy cooking school in Boston,” she said.  “Are you folks here in Peculiar on vacation?” Alana asked. 

“No,” Will said.  “Car trouble.  Our car is over at the gas station, but we ran into someone named Peter who said the mechanic was having lunch over here, so we decided to come over and have lunch while we wait.” 

“Oh, sure, Randall Tier’s our mechanic.  He’s sitting over there in the corner booth.” 

Will looked to where Alana was pointing and saw a young man staring back at him with a penetrating gaze.  Will dropped his eyes immediately thinking the man probably thought he was being rude. 

“So, where you folks from?” Alana asked. 

“You know, this soup looks really good.  I can’t wait to try it,” Will said, cutting off any further questions in that direction.  The less these people knew, the safer they were. 

Alana took the hint and smiled and sashayed off. 

Will took a bite of the soup and moaned.  It was so good.  It had a thick piece of French bread under the melted cheese and was just so flavorful.  He saw Abigail eating her own soup with enthusiasm.  He took a bite of the salad and it was wonderful too, so crisp and fresh, and the dressing was delicious, obviously homemade.  He saw Hannibal looking over at him through the opening and said, “This is really, really good.”  Hannibal smiled at him and nodded his thanks. 

After he and Abigail were done with lunch he glanced over and noticed that the mechanic had somehow managed to leave without him noticing.  “We’d better get back over there before he thinks someone abandoned a broken down car at his garage,” he said to Abigail while fishing his wallet out of his back pocket.  He paid and left Alana a nice tip, and the two of them took off down the street back toward the gas station. 

Hannibal came out of the kitchen then and stood in front of where Will and Abigail had just been sitting and where Alana was now clearing their plates off the counter.  “What’d you think of them, Alana?” 

“Are you kidding me?  That man was some serious eye candy.  Just yum-my.  The thing about him is I bet he turns heads wherever he goes and he isn’t even aware of it.  Notice how the folks in here couldn’t keep their eyes off him and he was totally oblivious?” 

“I noticed,” Hannibal said.  And he wasn’t surprised.  He had found himself looking over at the man himself several times during their meal.  He was exceptional. 

“And the girl’s attractive as well,” Alana continued.  “She’s got that fresh-faced girl-next-door vibe going on.  You thinking what I’m thinking?” 

“Too early to tell yet.  We have to find out if they have any family that will come looking for them if they disappear.” 

“You want me to make a try for him, see if I can get some information?  I think he kind of liked me.” 

Hannibal started to say yes but was surprised to find himself saying, “No, leave him to me,” instead. 

After raising an eyebrow at him Alana said, “What about the girl?” 

“I’ll call Randall and see if he can cozy up to her.  She may open up more with someone who’s closer to her own age.” 

“Their car’s broken down over at his shop.  They’re headed there right now.” 

“Well then, I think I need to give Randall a call and see what can be arranged, don’t you?” he said smiling. 

*     *     *

Randall Tier was checking under the hood of a car that was left at the gas station when his cell phone rang.  When he looked at caller ID he saw it was Hannibal.  “Yeah, Hannibal, what’s up?  Yeah, I saw them—who didn’t?  A couple of real lookers.  Oh, this is _their_ car.  Yeah, I was wondering.  Virginia plates.  It looks like they got a busted radiator.  I’ve got a replacement part in the shop though.  Sure, I can do that, not a problem.  Are we thinking about keeping them then?”  Randall was smiling now.  “Yeah, I see them coming now.  I’ll give them the bad news.”  Randall disconnected the call and stuck his head back under the hood of the car that he now knew belonged to the two strangers that had come into the restaurant while he was having his lunch.  He saw them approaching from the corner of his eye and he waited. 

“Hi, you must be Randall,” he heard the man say.  When Randall straightened up and faced them, wiping his hands on a rag, the man smiled and said, “I’m Will and this is Abigail, and we happen to be the unfortunate owners of this car.” 

“Oh, this is your car,” Randall replied, smiling back.  “Looks like you have a busted radiator.” 

“Yeah, I was afraid it was something like that,” the man named Will said.  “Can you give me a ballpark cost and how long you think it’ll take before she’ll be up and running again?” Will asked, already looking like he was bracing himself for bad news. 

“Well, the cost for a new radiator plus labor is around $450.  Unfortunately I don’t have a radiator in stock and I’ll have to order one.  Today’s Saturday so they probably can’t get one sent out till Monday, so I’m guessing it’ll be Tuesday before I get it, and then depending what time of the day I get it it’ll be either later on that day or the following day before I can install it.” 

“So, there are no auto parts stores in any neighboring towns that someone could drive to and pick up a new radiator?” Will asked looking slightly stunned. 

Randall held out his arms and said “Look around.  This is the largest city in a hundred mile radius.  No, I’ll have to order the part from Topeka.” 

Will sighed.  “If you make the call now do you think they could maybe ship it out today?” Will tried. 

Randall smiled and said, “How ‘bout I give ‘em a call right now and see what I can do.” 

Randall went inside the storefront and picked up the phone and pretended to make the call.  He knew they could see him through the large window, so he made sure to throw in some convincing arm and hand motions while he was at it.  Since he was acting he might as well do a good job of it.  After he hung up the phone he came out of the store looking dejected.  “Sorry, guys, their last pick-up time for shipments today was 12:00 and we missed it seeing as how it’s 1:15 now.  The guy promised me though it’d go out first thing Monday morning and we should have the part by Tuesday.” 

Will looked at Abigail.  It looked like they’d be spending the next few days here. That meant besides shelling out $450 to get the car fixed they’d have to pay for several nights at a motel.  This was taking a real bite out of their limited funds.  

“Well, thanks for trying, Randall, we really appreciate it,” Will said.   

“I’ll tell you what,” Randall said taking his wallet out.  “How about I treat you to a couple of free passes to a tour of Beast House.” 

“Beast House?  What’s Beast House?” Will asked looking confused. 

“Right up there on the hill,” Randall said pointing at a house sitting all by itself Will was surprised he had missed seeing before.  It had that old-timey Victorian look that Will figured dated it back to the early 1900s.  Will moved his eyes from the slanted bay window to the veranda with its balustraded balcony overhead, past a gable to a tower at the south end.  The tower windows reflected emptiness.  Its roof was a steep cone, not unlike a witch’s cap.  It would have been a nice looking house if it weren’t for the large sign hanging over the front steps that said _BEAST HOUSE_ in large red letters that looked like dripping blood.  

“Oh my god!” Abigail said.  “ _The_ Beast House, as in the one where all those people got killed by some kind of a creature!” she said excitedly. 

Will frowned at this. 

“That’s the one,” Randall said, smiling at Abigail’s enthusiasm. 

“Oh, we have to go!  I have to get a t-shirt!  Do they have t-shirts?  Something that says ‘I survived Beast House’?,” she rambled on in the same breath. 

“Yeah, there’s t-shirts, bumper stickers, key chains and other assorted items at the souvenir shop in town.  The t-shirts are cool. They have what looks like claws coming out through the front, like something’s clawing its way out of your chest.” 

“Cool!  Uncle Will, we have to go!” 

“How’d you get free passes?” Will asked, delaying answering Abigail. 

“My great-aunt owns the place.  She gives us all a couple free passes to hand out as we see fit.” 

“Oh, please-please-please,” Abigail begged, giving Will puppy dog eyes. 

Will couldn’t understand why Abigail would want to see a place where people died, especially after what she had been through with her father, but then the resilience of the young never ceased to amaze him. 

“All right, if that’s what you want, seeing as we’ll be staying in town a couple extra days anyway.” 

“Yes!” she said pumping her right arm. 

“Since you’ll be in town a few days I’d love to show you the sights, maybe take you out to dinner and a movie tonight,” Randall said to Abigail. 

 _Whoa_ , Will thought.   _This kid works fast._  

Abigail blushed prettily and said, “Sure, I’d like that.” 

“Great.  I’ll pick you up at six.  You’re staying at the motel in town, right?” 

Abigail looked over at Will. 

Will had been wondering if a town this small even had a motel, so he was relieved to hear Randall mention one.  “We barely made it here before the car died.  Where is the motel?” 

“Oh, it’s one street over from Main Street, just a little ways down from Beast House.  This is our busy tourist season so I hope they have a room.” 

“You get a lot of tourists here?” Will asked looking dubious.

“Oh, sure.  People come from all over the country to take a tour of Beast House.  We’ve had people visit from as far away as Japan,” he said proudly. 

“Oh.  Right.  Beast House.”  Will looked up at the old house again and did see a crowd of people gathering in front of it now. 

Randall took out a business card for the gas station and wrote his cell phone number on it and handed it to Abigail.  “Call me when you know what room you’ll be in.  Or, if you forget, I can ask my cousin.  He owns the place.” 

“Okay, thanks,” Abigail said smiling widely and already typing Randall’s number into her cell phone. 

As Will and Abigail grabbed their bags and the cooler out of the car and headed for the motel, Randall couldn’t help but appreciate the way the girl’s hips swayed provocatively in her tight blue jeans as she walked.  The town hadn’t been able to keep anyone new for almost three years now, and these two would be a welcome addition.  He sure hoped they could keep them.  He pulled out his cell phone and called Hannibal to let him know he’d succeeded in delaying their departure till at least Tuesday and that he had a date with Abigail for tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There actaully is, in fact, a city in Missouri called Peculiar, and their slogan really is “May the ‘odds’ be with you.” No, I don’t live there. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all enjoying the slow build and creepiness.

Will and Abigail walked over to the motel that was located on the next street over from Main Street just a short distance down from Beast House.  Will assumed they had built the motel near Beast House so the tourists would have a place to stay and wouldn’t have far to walk to reach it.  The motel was situated so that tourists staying there would be able to come out of their rooms and look up and see Beast House sitting up on the hill brooding down at them. 

By the time they got to the motel they had both worked up a sweat and Will sighed with relief as he stepped through the doorway of the motel office and felt the cool air wash over his sweaty body.  It had to be in the mid-90s out there right now.  He froze immediately though as he took in the two men in front of him.  One was behind the counter and must be the motel manager, but the other one standing in front of the counter was a tall, imposing man wearing a sheriff’s uniform.  The sheriff had turned toward them and seemed to be giving the two of them a thorough inspection.  Will hoped the sheriff being here had nothing to do with Garrett Jacob Hobbs. 

“You must be Will and Abigail,” the sheriff said, making Will’s stomach drop and making him more certain than ever that this did have something to do with Hobbs. 

“We are,” said Will cautiously. 

The sheriff stuck out his hand and said, “Sheriff Francis Dolarhyde, town sheriff.”    

Will took the sheriff’s hand and shook it, waiting for him to say something else, and when he didn’t Will said, “Did you need to speak to us?” 

Sheriff Dolarhyde looked surprised at that, and then smiled and said, “No.  No, I was just here when Matthew got the call saying you two were on your way.” 

Will looked over at the other gentleman, who must be Matthew, with his eyebrows raised. 

“Oh, I’m Matthew Brown, the owner of this fine establishment.  I got a call a few minutes ago from my cousin, Randall Tier, over at the gas station saying you two were headed this way and hoping I would have a nice room waiting for you.” 

Will visibly relaxed.  “Well, I hope you do have one, preferably with a super powered air conditioner, an ice machine right outside the door, and a nice cold shower,” Will said smiling while envisioning being in a shower with cool water running down his sweaty body.  When he shook himself out of his cold shower fantasy he noticed both of the men staring at him intently with unreadable expressions on their faces. 

Will immediately looked down feeling flustered. “S-so, do you happen to have a room available?  Randall mentioned this is your busy time,” Will said, breaking the awkward silence. 

“You’re in luck.  I have one room left and it’s all yours.  The air conditioner works, the shower has cold water, and the ice machine is just a few doors down,” Matthew said smiling back at Will.  “If you would please fill this card out for me, we’ll have you in that cold shower in no time,” Matthew said, looking Will over in a way that made him uncomfortable. 

Will stepped up to the counter and began filing out the card Matthew handed him.  He couldn’t help but notice that neither of the two men had stepped back to give him some space.  He looked up to see Matthew leaning on the counter a little too close for comfort and watching him intently, and when he looked over at the sheriff to his right, he noticed he seemed to be staring at Abigail. 

Matthew Brown examined the two newcomers with interest.  Talk was spreading like wildfire all over town about them and he had been curious to see them for himself.  Of course anyone staying in town eventually ended up at his motel.  The room he was giving them had been reserved for a couple coming up from Texas later on today, but he would tell them he had made an error and send them over to the next town.  They wouldn’t be happy, but he would soften the blow with a couple of free passes to Beast House.  He wanted these two staying at his motel where he could keep an eye on them while the family waited to find out whether they would be able to keep them or not.  Looking between them they were both beautiful.  He examined Will while he filled out the card and he knew Will was uncomfortable with his close proximity.  He could see it in the slight blush on his cheeks and the slight tightening of his jaw.  He leaned a couple inches closer.  He loved pushing his boundaries like this.  Looking at the man up close he couldn’t help licking his lips in anticipation.  He hoped they could keep them.  They would certainly be a welcome addition.  He smiled.  They had no idea what was in store for them. 

Will filled the card out as quickly as he could and handed it to Matthew while taking a step back.  He went to pull out his wallet, but Matthew waived his hand and said, “You can pay when you leave.” 

“Oh.  Great.  Thank you,” Will said surprised.  Then he picked up his stuff and headed for the door.  

Matthew smirked.  _With any luck you won’t be leaving_ , he thought, sharing a knowing look with the sheriff. “Would you like me to show you to your room?” Matthew asked.

“No!  I mean, I’m sure between the two of us we can find it,” Will replied, smiling awkwardly. 

After the door closed behind them the sheriff said, “You see their stuff?  They have Virginia plates—that’s over 1,000 miles away—and all they’re carrying is a duffel bag, a backpack, and a garbage bag full of clothes.  Something tells me these two had to head out in a hurry.  My gut tells me there’s a story here.  I’ll get the background checks going.”  Then he took the card from Matthew with Will’s information on it and headed back to his office. 

*     *     *

Garrett Jacob Hobbs made the trip to Minnesota in 18 hours and parked a couple blocks away from his old house.  He didn’t want to cause any suspicion parking in his own driveway.  Then he got out of the car and cut through his yard over to the Schurr’s house.  As he recalled, Marissa’s parents were divorced, so it should be just Marissa and her mother at home, unless they had company.  It was Saturday afternoon and he just hoped Marissa wasn’t on a date or out with friends. 

After looking around for prying eyes he knocked on the front door.  The door opened a crack and he saw the door had one of those security door chains and Marissa’s mother was peeking through the small opening.  Since it would be about two seconds before she recognized him and slammed the door, Hobbs picked up his booted foot as high as he could and slammed it on the door with as much strength as he could muster.  He heard splintering but the chain held.  He heard Marissa’s mother let out some sort of squeak at the impact, but he didn’t give her a chance to scream as he raised his foot and slammed it against the door even harder this time and ripped the chain hardware from the wood.  He already had one of Will’s knives in his hand, and he grabbed Marissa’s mom by the hair as she was turning to run, and quickly slit her throat before she could make a sound. 

After quickly looking around outside and satisfied no one saw anything, he shut the door and went in search of Marissa.  He found her in her bedroom sitting on her bed with her headphones on, bopping her head in time to the music and thumbing through some sort of fashion magazine.  Her mother could have been screaming her bloody head off and the girl still probably wouldn’t have heard it.  Marissa’s mouth made an O of surprise when she saw and recognized him, but he was on her in an instant pinning her to the bed.  He used the cord from her headphones to quickly bind her hands behind her back, then took the shoelaces out of her sneakers and tied her ankles together.  She had started off calling for her mother, but when he slapped her hard across the face and explained to her that her mother was dead, she was now sobbing and giving him fearful looks. 

“What do you want?” she asked sitting against the headboard of her bed with tears and snot running down her face.

“I want to ask you a few questions, and if you answer me truthfully I won’t hurt you, but if you lie to me I’ll hurt you so bad you’ll wish you were dead like your poor dead mother,” he said. 

“Well, what is it you want to know?” Marissa sniffed.  “I don’t know anything.” 

“What I want to know is, do you still talk to Abigail?” 

Marissa sniffed again and said, “We occasionally call or text each other, but not like we used to.  Mom doesn’t like me talking to her,” she finished between sniffs. 

“When’s the last time you contacted her or she contacted you?” 

“Probably two weeks ago.” 

“Where’s your phone?” 

Marissa pointed with her chin to the nightstand.  He grabbed the phone and asked, “Do you save your texts?” 

“Yeah, most of the time.” 

He looked through the texts until he found one that Marissa had previously sent to Abigail.  He wanted to get an idea of how they talked to each other so he could duplicate it convincingly.  After he got a feel for it he typed out a simple message and sent it to the number showing on Marissa’s phone as “Abigail’s cell.”  Then he held his breath hoping she would answer. 

*     *     *

Abigail heard her phone signal she had a text.  Will was thankfully in the shower so she pulled out her phone and checked the message.  It was from Marissa. 

_How r u?  Herd dad out of prisen._

Still hearing the shower running in the bathroom, Abigail typed back,

_Am ok.  On the run in case hes lookin for me._

_Where r u?  U safe?  You sure he cant find u?_

_He ll nvr find us.  Were in podunk twn called Pecular if u can beliv.  Dont tell ur_ _mom r anyone._

_Dont wory wont tell a soul.  B saf._

Garrett Jacob Hobbs was smiling.  That was just too easy.  Spotting Marissa’s laptop on her desk he went over to it and googled “city of Pecular.”  Google helpfully said, _Did you mean Peculiar?_ and Garrett Jacob Hobbs said out loud, “Yes, google, I believe I did mean that, thank you.  Now where is it?”  He clicked on it and saw it was in Missouri near the Kansas state border.  Well hot damn, that was about 450 miles straight west.  He could be there in about seven hours.  He could stay here a few hours and have a little fun and get some sleep and be in Peculiar around noon tomorrow. 

He went in the bathroom and started filling the tub with hot water while he went back to his car and got the coconut shampoo he had picked up from the local drug store on his way over here.  When he got back the tub was filled almost to the top with hot water.  The Schurrs had one of those big old-fashioned iron tubs with the clawed feet that you hardly see anymore.  He turned off the water and tested the temperature.  It was a little too hot, but by the time he stripped Marissa it should be tolerable.  He liked the water hot.  He set the shampoo by the tub and went back to Marissa’s room.  She had managed to hop over to her window but had fallen over and was struggling on the floor to get up. 

“Get away from me, you freak!” she yelled, apparently regaining a bit of her courage.  “Why’d you have to kill my mom you sick bastard!” 

“Tsk, tsk.  Keep that up and I’ll wash your mouth out with soap.” 

“Just try it, you sick fuck.” 

“Oh, I’ll do more than try,” he said.  He grabbed a tube sock that he saw lying on the floor and used it to tie around her mouth.  He knew there’d be lots of screaming as he cut her clothes off with the knife, and he was right.  She screamed into the sock gag until she was red in the face, but he finally had her naked.  He carried her into the bathroom and put the toilet seat down with his foot and sat her on it.  Then he closed the door.  She was visibly shivering now.  He removed his own clothes and watched her reaction as she turned bright red and looked away.  Then he checked the water again.  It was hot but not scalding. 

He picked her up again and placed her struggling body in the hot water opposite the faucet.  He heard her gasp as the hot water touched her skin.  Her skin was already turning a delightful shade of pink.  He bent down and cut the shoelaces binding her ankles and she tried to immediately stand up, but she couldn’t find any purchase in the slippery tub with her hands still bound behind her back.   He got in the tub behind her.  The water level rose and splashed over the sides of the tub. 

When he was situated behind her he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her head under the water and she came up spluttering with the sock gag still in her mouth.  He grabbed the shampoo and opened the cap and took a whiff and became instantly aroused.  As he lathered her hair with the scent of the coconut shampoo in the air he could imagine that this was his little girl in front of him just like old times.  He dunked her under the water again to rinse the shampoo out and then put his nose to her hair and inhaled.  _That’s better_ , he thought.  Then he lifted Abigail’s squirming body (because he now imagined it was her) onto his lap and said, “Shhh, it’s okay, daddy’s here,” then lifted her buoyant body once more and settled her on his shaft and slowly impaled himself inside her sweet young body.  “Oh, yes,” he sighed, “daddy’s home.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for continuing to follow this story, and for your comments and kudos. Now, let's pay a visit to Beast House, shall we?

**_ Sunday _ **

The next morning Will got up around six-thirty.  Abigail was still asleep, but that was hardly surprising considering she hadn't gotten back from her date with Randall Tier till two in the morning.  He was going to have to have a talk with her but was dreading it.  He didn’t exactly know how to talk to teenagers.  He took a quick shower and then left Abigail a note letting her know that he was going over to the restaurant to get some coffee and a bite to eat. 

There was a pretty good breakfast crowd already at the restaurant, but he found a small table to sit at.  He smiled and nodded at the cook, Hannibal, through the opening behind the counter.  The restaurant had newspapers available, so he picked one up to see if there was any news about Garrett Jacob Hobbs.  Alana came right over with coffee and a big smile for him.  He had to say, people were very friendly in this town.  He decided on bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast. 

While he was eating and skimming the paper his eyes kept going to an attractive couple sitting in a booth directly in his line of vision.  The woman was oriental with long straight black hair, and the gentleman was well dressed and distinguished looking with a neat beard, but what caught Will’s attention was the sadness that seemed to pour off of both of them.  It was hard to ignore them when they exuded so much grief.  Will’s felt his empathy trying to break free, to reach out to them, and he had to reinforce his mental barriers to keep it in check.  The couple was just talking quietly while having coffee and no food far as Will could tell.  They didn’t look like they were from Peculiar and Will wondered why they were here and what their story was. 

After breakfast as Will was walking back to the motel he looked up at Beast House and saw Peter Bernardone mowing the lawn.  He wondered if the owner of Beast House was the auntee Peter had mentioned. 

Will had a paper bag containing coffee and toast for Abigail, and she was just coming out of the shower when he walked through the door. 

“I brought you toast and coffee,” he said, “if you’re hungry.” 

“Starved.  Thank you, Uncle Will.” 

“You got back pretty late last night.” 

“Mm-hmm,” she said with her mouth now full of toast. 

Will sighed.  “Abigail, I know you’re 18 now and consider yourself an adult, but I hope you’re being careful.  We’re only going to be in this town a couple more days and you’ve got college plans and you wouldn’t want those plans derailed for any reason.” 

“Oh my god, please tell me this isn’t a sex talk!” Abigail said looking at him disbelieving. 

“No!  Well…maybe.  I mean, well, what were you doing out till 2:00 in the morning?” 

“After dinner we went to a movie.  We had to drive two towns over because Peculiar doesn’t have a movie theater.  After that we talked.  It turns out we have a lot in common.” 

“Just talked?” Will said skeptically. 

“Yes, just talked,” Abigail said.    

“Fine.  But just for future reference so we don’t have to have this awkward conversation again, please be careful.” 

“Okay, fine.  Are we going to visit Beast House today?” Abigail said changing the topic.  Randall says tour times are 1:30, 4:00 and 6:30.” 

“Yeah, I suppose, if you still want to.” 

“Great.  Let’s do the 1:30 tour.  Randall and I have another date tonight.” 

 

They walked up the hill to Beast House at 1:10.  There was already a small crowd outside the house waiting for it to open.  Will was surprised to see the sad couple he had seen earlier in the restaurant waiting with the rest of the crowd. 

At 1:20 a man who introduced himself as Cordell Doemling came out the front door and started collecting tickets from those who had them and selling tickets to those who needed them.  Will counted 15 adults, not including him and Abigail, and three children.  Adult tickets were $12 and children’s tickets were $5, so this brought in $195 for just this one tour.  Not a bad haul.  Will suspected the 6:30 tour was probably the more popular one. 

A pick-up truck pulled up then, having driven over from a house situation also on the hill a little ways down from Beast House.  The house was close enough for Will to see, and what he saw was a strange brick house that appeared to have no windows.  Who would build a house with no windows?  Who would want to _live_ in a house with no windows? 

Will saw Peter Bernardone jump out of the truck and go around to the passenger side to help a woman with a cane out of the truck.  Will guessed the woman to be in her late ‘60s or early ‘70s, but she was still very handsome and Will thought that she was probably quite a beauty in her youth.  Her hair was dyed blond, which appeared to be her natural color, and was shoulder length and styled attractively, and she was dressed in black dress slacks with a cream-colored long-sleeved ruffled blouse with a high neckline and a strand of pearls with matching pearl earrings.  The cane was black with a gold handle.  She was elegant looking.  The woman made her way slowly over to the crowd waiting for the tour. 

“Welcome to Beast House,” she said in a low, husky, cultured voice.  “My name is Bedelia Du Maurier, and I own it.  I began showing the house to visitors back in 1969, a couple years after tragedy took the lives of my two children and their nanny.  You may be asking yourselves why a woman would want to take people through her home that was a scene of such personal grief.  The answer is easy:  m-o-n-e-y.” 

Quiet laughter stirred through the group.  She smiled pleasantly as her eyes swept over the crowd, her gaze settling briefly on Will and Abigail.  _These must be the two everyone’s been telling me about_ , she thought.  _Attractive, healthy, intelligent eyes.  They have real potential_. 

Bedelia turned, and limped up the front porch stairs with Cordell on her heels ready to offer his assistance if need be. 

Bedelia opened the front door and Will noticed the door had a creepy door knocker shaped in the head of a monkey.  As they stepped inside there was a stuffed monkey standing by the wall with its arms out that seemed to be snarling, ready to bite.  Everyone steered clear of it, but Bedelia stepped over to it and dropped her cane into the circle of its arms and then snatched it up again.  “An umbrella stand.  The original owners of this house were fond of monkeys apparently,” she said. 

“When my husband bought this house back in 1966 we had no idea that people had been killed in this house already.  Full disclosure was not the policy back then.  If we had known, maybe my own sweet children would still be alive today.  But alas, no one had told us.  My husband, children and I had moved to this town from Lithuania, so we hadn’t heard anything about the killings.” 

They turned left out of the vestibule and everyone filed into a room that Will thought would have been called a parlor back in the days when this old house was built.  It was a large open room with antique furniture and a large fireplace.  Will didn’t see anything amiss, but there was a tall three-panel screen set up on one side of the room. 

“After the deaths of my children when I started researching this house, I found reports of three deaths in the late ‘50s described as ‘death by mutilation.’  The police didn’t start photographing crime scenes in this town till years later, so those scenes couldn’t be duplicated.  The first beast killing in this house that was photographed happened in this very room.”  Bedelia lifted her cane and pointed it at Cordell, which was apparently a signal for him to remove the screen.  Someone in their group screamed; several others gasped with shock; others mumbled; some groaned with repugnance.  Bedelia just chuckled at the group’s reaction.   No doubt she was used to such reactions. 

Lying on the floor, one leg propped high on the dusty cushion of a couch, was the form of a woman.  Her shiny eyes gazed upward.  Her bloody face was twisted in a grimace of terror and agony.  Tatters of her stained clothing draped her body, covering little except her breasts and groin area. 

“This was the beast’s fourth victim back in 1962,” Bedelia said, “19-year-old Gladys Reeves.  The beast burst into the room one night and surprised Gladys while she was reading _The Saturday Evening Post_.  This is the very magazine she was reading at the time.”  Bedelia stretched her cane across the body and poked the magazine.  “Everything is just as it was on that awful night.”  She smiled pleasantly.  “Except for the body, of course.  This replica was created in wax by Mssr. Claude Dubois, at my request, back in 1968.  Every detail is guaranteed authentic, down to the tiniest bite mark on her poor neck.  We used police and morgue photos.  This is the nightgown that Gladys actually wore during the attack.  These dark places were made by her own blood.” 

“Was there sexual assault?” one of the men in the crowd asked looking at the state of her nightgown. 

Bedelia’s pleasant eyes hardened, flicking toward his face.  “No,” she said.  “Now, if you’ll step this way I’ll show you the scene of the next attack.  Bedelia headed up the stairs as she spoke.  “The police never found any evidence of whoever or whatever had killed poor Gladys, and I heard her parents moved out of the house two months later saying they thought the house was haunted.  It was empty over a year when two local boys decided to break in one evening.  Who knows what mischief they had in mind.  Maybe they wanted to see where the murder took place, maybe their friends dared them to, maybe they wanted a place to hide while they smoked cigarettes stolen from their parents.  What I do know is they never made it out of the house alive.  If you’ll walk down the hallway to this room.” 

Bedelia opened the door to what appeared to be a bedroom.  “Earl Smith was 12 and Matthew Callahan was 11.” 

Their wax bodies lay torn and chewed.  One was between a set of twin beds; the other was near the window, like maybe he was trying to escape out it.  Once again their clothes were ripped to pieces. 

“Let’s go,” said one woman who had two children with her.  “This is the most crude, tasteless excuse for a voyeuristic thrill I’ve ever come across.” 

Her husband smiled at Bedelia apologetically as he trailed his wife out the door.  

The other woman who had a child left in their wake saying, “We’re going too.” 

Will looked at Abigail with his eyebrows raised hoping she was ready to leave, but she just looked back over at Bedelia. 

Bedelia laughed quietly.  “They left before we got to the best part,” she said. 

Nervous laughter whispered through the remaining members of the group. 

“As I said, when we moved here we didn’t know about the previous murders.  We came from Lithuania.  My husband, Robert Du Maurier, was a wealthy shipper and merchant, and we had two beautiful boys.  We moved to this country in 1966 so that my husband could set up trade between this country and Lithuania.  We were living a happy and successful life.  Then tragedy struck.  Five months after moving here my husband was sailing from Lithuania with a new supply of merchandise and his boat sank with all hands.  I was suddenly left a widow alone with two small boys in a strange country.” 

Bedelia was leading them down the hallway to yet another room and Will was dreading seeing this.  He wanted nothing more than to leave, but Abigail seemed like she was fascinated by the whole thing.  They had passed two different areas in the hallway with chairs that had bed sheets thrown over them, and Will wondered why they were there. 

“What’s with the chairs here?” somebody else asked. 

“Oh, those two areas will be the site of our newest exhibit which will premier sometime next year.  I’m sure you all heard about the deaths three weeks ago of those two college boys that broke in.  Well these two areas are where they died.  The chairs and sheets are protecting the areas where their bloodstains are.  I’ve commissioned the son of Mssr. Dubois to make manikins of them, and they will be displayed in the exact area where their bodies were found.  So you all be sure to come back next year.” 

But Will was watching the oriental woman now.  He had seen her go stiff at Bedelia’s words, and her face looked pale and stricken. 

“Ghouls!  Grave sniffers, all of you,” the Oriental woman suddenly shouted, “paying her so you can see where innocent children were butchered.  And you!” she said pointing at Bedelia, “how can you live with yourself making money off of it?  Blood money!  Well my son died here and how dare you turn his death into some kind of a circus sideshow for your monetary gain!”  She was screaming now and people were looking uncomfortable.  Her husband was trying to lead her off, saying, “Honey, please, let’s go.  This was a terrible idea.”  Will saw Cordell starting to approach, but before he could reach them Will stepped in and took the woman’s other arm and followed as her husband led her to the end of the hallway, down the stairs and out the front door.  The woman was sobbing uncontrollably and her husband was holding her close and speaking to her in a low voice.  Will noticed that Abigail hadn’t followed him out. 

The man looked over at Will and said, “Thank you for your help.  I told my wife this was a bad idea but she insisted on it.  She said she needed to see where our son died.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Will said.  “Is there anything else I can do for you?” 

“No.  I’m just going to get her back to our room at the motel and give her a sedative and put her to bed.  Oh, I’m Frederick Chilton, by the way, and this is my wife, Beverly.  Thank you again for your help, Mr. uh … ?

“Graham.  Will Graham.  I’m saying at the motel as well, room 117, if there’s anything I can do.” 

“Thank you again, Will.” 

And then Will watched as Frederick put his wife in their car and drive off back toward the motel. 

Will thought about the three bodies he’d seen during the tour.  He hadn’t been able to stop his empathy from automatically opening up and analyzing the crime scenes.  It was just second nature to him.  He had to admit that the slashes and bites looked like some sort of beast had ripped into them.  Mind you, they were wax figures so there was no way of knowing whether they were depicted accurately or not.  If he saw pictures of the crime scenes of the last two victims he’d have a better idea of what might have done this.  Maybe he’d give Jack a call after he and Abigail left Peculiar and see what he could find out.  One thing stood out in Will’s mind immediately, however.  If the first killing happened in the 1950’s and the Chilton’s son died three weeks ago, there was no way these people were killed by the same person or creature.  And why did the so-called beast only kill in this house?  Why not kill people in town?  Will looked up at Beast House and thought, _What a horrible place this is, so much tragedy.  It’s a wonder no one’s burned it to the ground._

He walked back down to the motel, and about 45 minutes later Abigail turned up. 

“So, how was the rest of the tour?” Will asked while reclining on the bed with his hands behind his head.  He was still thinking about the Chiltons and this whole beast thing. 

“Amazing!” she said smiling and holding up a t-shirt she had purchased at the souvenir shop to show him.  “The beast has killed 12 people total.  It just rips them apart.” 

 _Wonderful_ , Will thought.  “Did Ms. Du Maurier give any theories as to why the so-called beast only kills in that house and not anywhere else?” 

Abigail’s smile faltered then as she considered that.  “No, she didn’t say anything about that.  That is strange.” 

“Very.  So, when is Randall picking you up?” 

“At 3:00, so I need to hurry and get ready.  There’s a car show he wants to go to in Lawrence, Kansas, so I’ll be back late.  Don’t worry about me, okay?” 

Will smiled at her.  “A car show, huh?  Maybe I should go with him instead of you.  I’d probably enjoy it more.” 

“I know, right?  I won’t enjoy the car show but I will enjoy the company.” 

“Okay.  We’ll be leaving Tuesday though, just remember that.” 

Abigail just stood there fidgeting, so Will said, “Something wrong?” 

“It’s just if we have to pick a place to live, maybe we should consider living here.  I mean, maybe the car breaking down and us ending up here is a sign.” 

Will considered his answer carefully before saying, “There are only 402 people in this town.  Most of the town’s money seems to be made from the tourists who come to visit that freak show up on the hill.  How would we make a living here?  And what about college?” 

“Randall said his Uncle Hannibal told him that there’s a good college in Topeka, only 90 minutes from here.  I could go to college there and come home on the weekends.” 

 _Randall is the cook’s nephew?_ “Well, what about me?  A town this small most likely isn’t looking for teachers.  And there certainly aren’t any boat motors here for me to fix.” 

“I’ll have Randall ask his uncle about it, okay?  Just keep an open mind … _please?"_    

 _Shit._   “I’ll try.” 

Abagail pulled some clean clothes out of the garbage bag and ran into the bathroom. 

Randall picked Abagail up for their second date at 3:00, so around 4:00 Will decided to head over to the restaurant and have an early dinner, then just watch a little TV and turn in early.  When he stepped out the motel door to go to the restaurant, he had no idea he was being watched. 

*     *     *

Garrett Jacob Hobbs passed a green sign that read, _WELCOME TO PECULIAR, WHERE THE ‘ODDS’ ARE WITH YOU.  POPULATION 402._   He slowed down to 25 miles an hour.  He didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. 

Before he reached the town proper he passed a gas station and spotted a navy blue Lexus parked off to the side.  He slowed down so he could check out the license plate, and sure enough it had Virginia plates.  He could hardly believe his luck.  He had been sure that they would be long gone by the time he got here, even though he had driven half the night.  _They must have had car trouble_ , he thought.  If this wasn’t a sure sign that he was supposed to get his girl back, he didn’t know what was. 

A short distance down from the gas station before entering the town itself was a Dairy Queen, and looking at the clock on the dashboard he realized it was 3:15 and he hadn’t eaten anything since he left the Schurr’s house, so he pulled into the drive-thru and ordered a couple burgers, fries and a chocolate shake.  As he sat at the drive-thru window waiting for his food he noticed an old Victorian house sitting slightly up on a hill.  He glanced at the sign.  Its red lettering wobbled and dripped like wet blood and spelled out BEAST HOUSE.  He grinned and wondered what the hell it was.  It sounded like a fun place. 

A girl, whose nametag said her name was Georgia, handed him his bag of food and shake and said, “You have a nice day now,” and gave him a big smile.  Garrett Jacob Hobbs looked at her with a moment of interest and then dismissed her.  She was close to the right age but she didn’t look enough like his Abagail.  He smiled back and said “you too” and drove off. 

While sucking on the straw and enjoying the coolness of the shake going down his throat he considered that the most likely place to find Will and Abagail would be at a motel.  If their car was being worked on then they had to be staying somewhere.  He drove around keeping an eye out for either one of them while looking out for a motel.  He was glad now that he had taken the Schurr’s van as neither Abagail nor Will would recognize it.  He had put Abagail’s car in the Schurr’s garage and removed the plates, and then set the house and garage on fire.  His only regret was he hadn’t had time to honor every part of Marissa and her mother as he would have normally done if he had had more time. 

The town wasn’t that big so he found the motel in under five minutes.  He was amused to see it was right down the street from that Beast House place.  Apparently Beast House was some sort of tourist attraction. 

As he examined the setup of the motel, he noted with satisfaction that there were a lot of cars parked in the lot that would keep his van from standing out.  He could park in the back and be able to watch and wait until he spotted one of them coming in or out of a room.  He wondered if Will and Abagail were sharing a room.  The thought enraged him.  If Will Graham had put so much as a pinky finger on his little girl he would cut off his dick and shove it down his throat.  Abagail was his and his alone.  But for now he needed to switch license plates.  Minnesota plates would set off alarms if they spotted them and he needed to be smart about this now that he was so close. 

He had seen a car sitting on a lawn with a “For Sale” sign on it a little past the outskirts of town when he was looking for the motel.  By the looks of the car it had been sitting there a while.  He drove back over to it, and after looking around for any sign of movement he got out and removed the back plate off the car.  He could get away with just having a plate on the front of the van and he doubted the owners of the car would even miss it. 

After removing the car’s plate he drove to a deserted area and took the Minnesota plates off the van and tucked them under the back seat of the van and put the Missouri plate on the front.  It was so nice that the Schurr’s had a handy little tool kit in the glove compartment. 

He then drove back to the motel.  It was in the shape of an L and had rooms on two levels with the office at the end of the short part of the L.  He parked in the back of the lot where some trees offered a bit of shade from the heat.  Of course if the van got too hot he could run the air conditioner, but a parked van with the motor running might draw attention.  He couldn’t afford to blow this. 

He took out the first burger, which was only slightly warm now, and bit into it, enjoying the greasy taste.  While he had been in prison he had missed the freedom of being able to go out and grab a burger and fries whenever he wanted.  Of course when he found Abagail they would be going up into the Canadian wilderness and living off the land.  It would be just the two of them.  He could hardly wait.  He and Abagail would be back together soon, and if Will Graham tried to stop him, well, he still had the knives he took from Will’s home. 

He had just taken out the second burger when he saw Will Graham step out of room 117, but Abagail wasn’t with him.  He glanced at his watch.  It was 4:00. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can feel you all getting anxious, wondering when Will and Hannibal will finally have some kind of interaction. Well that’s easy. The answer is in the next chapter. ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Will was happy to see the restaurant wasn’t as crowded at this time of the day.  There were plenty of seats available but he decided to sit at the counter since he was alone, and that way he could watch the activity in the kitchen.  He saw the cook, Hannibal, glance over at him and smile.  He smiled back.

Alana came right over with a glass of ice water.  “Welcome back, Will.  I take it your car’s not fixed yet.” 

 _Had he told Alana his name?  He didn’t think so._   “No, Randall Tier had to order the part and it won’t arrive till Tuesday earliest, so you guys are stuck with us for a couple more days,” Will said smiling. 

“Your young companion won’t be joining you this evening?” Alana inquired. 

“No.  Believe it or not we were in town less than two hours and she already had a date.  She’s going with Randall to some car show this evening, so I’m flying solo.  So, Alana,” Will said looking over the menu, “what would you recommend for me this time?  There are too many wonderful selections in this menu to choose from,” he said putting the menu back in the stand he had taken it from and looking up at Alana expectantly.  Will just loved looking at her.        

“Hey, Hannibal,” she called out.  “What would you recommend for Will here?” 

Hannibal came over to the window, and after studying Will for a few seconds said, “For you, Will, I would recommend the Foie de Veau en Persillade avec Pommes de Terre.”

“Wow,” Will said impressed.  “Will I be able to afford that?” he joked.   

“That’s a pretty traditional French meal, Will.  I’ll tell you what; since you’re being forced to remain in town a few extra days waiting for your car to be fixed, how about it if this meal is on the house.” 

Will looked momentary stunned, then blushed.  “I didn’t mean to give the impression I couldn’t afford it,” he said clearly embarrassed.  “Besides, won’t the owner be upset?” 

“Oh, I have quite a lot of pull with the owner and I’m sure it’ll be okay,” he said smiling. 

Will looked over at Alana and she was pointing at Hannibal and mouthing, _He is the owner_. 

Oh gee. 

“And I never thought that you couldn’t afford it,” Hannibal said, enjoying watching Will blush, “I would just like to treat you to dinner this evening.” 

After looking up at Hannibal and seeing the sincerity in his eyes Will finally said, “Well, thank you, Hannibal.  That’s extremely kind.  I didn’t mean to sound defensive.  It’s just been a long time since I experienced small town hospitality.  What does that translate to, by the way?” 

“It’s seared calf’s liver with parsley, garlic, and fried potatoes.” 

“That sounds great.  Thank you.”   

“It’s my pleasure, Will.  Well, let me get your meal started.”  Hannibal loved Will’s voice, loved the way he said his name, loved the way he blushed when he got embarrassed.  He was becoming really fond of this one. 

After Will finished his meal Hannibal came out and stood in front of him and said, “Well?” 

“It was amazing, really.  You are an incredible cook.  Alana said you studied in Boston.  Why did you decide to set up your restaurant here instead of in Boston?  I’m sure you would have been a big hit there.” 

“Well, all my family is here and, truth be told, I got quite homesick while I was away at school.  I don’t have as big a clientele, but they’re just as complimentary.  Especially my mother.  She enjoys my cooking very much.” 

Will laughed.  “I bet she does.” 

“Listen, Will, I have to get back to work, but why don’t you come by my apartment after the restaurant is closed tonight for some wine and conversation.  It’s so seldom I get a chance to sit down and have intelligent conversation with anyone outside the family.” 

Will hesitated.  He didn’t want to insult Hannibal but he wasn’t good with social interaction. 

Hannibal noticed Will’s hesitancy and added, “I would consider it a great favor, Will.  I promise you don’t have to stay long.  Just have one glass of wine with me, and if the conversation gets boring you can just get up and leave.  One glass.” 

Will looked up at Hannibal’s hopeful face.  He also suddenly noticed how incredible he smelled, which was strange.  He didn’t usually pay attention to the way other men smelled, but Hannibal smelled amazing.  All of a sudden he didn’t feel anxious about it.  The idea of having a nice visit with Hannibal seemed like a great idea.  “Okay,” he said, “one glass.  Where do you live?” 

“Oh, it’s easy to find.  I live right above the restaurant.  The entrance is on the left side of the storefront.  Just ring the bell when you arrive.  We close at 9:00, so shall we make it 9:30?” 

“Nine-thirty it is.  See you later, Hannibal, and thank you for dinner” Will said.  He left a nice tip for Alana and left smiling. 

Alana watched Will leave and then turned on Hannibal.  “Hannibal Lecter, shame on you,” she said chidingly.  “You know you’re not supposed to use your pheromones on people.  What would your mother say?” 

“I just used a small amount.  He’s a shy boy and I wanted him to come over to my place for a talk.  It’s just so I can find out more about him and his niece.” 

“Mm-hmm.  Sure it is.  Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way your eyes follow him.  You’re forming an attachment to this one.  Be careful tonight; we don’t know if we can keep them yet or not,” Alana said. 

“I’m not a teenager, Alana, I think I can control myself,” he replied. 

“I guess we’ll find out,” she said smiling as she turned and went to wait on a new customer. 

Hannibal wasn’t  sure if he hadn’t just made a mistake, but every time he saw Will his attraction to him seemed to grow and he had wanted to spend some time with him.  If it turned out that they weren’t able to keep Will and Abigail, then getting closer to him would only make this more difficult.  He hadn’t been able to stop himself though.  He’d better be able to control himself tonight or there would be hell to pay. 

*     *     *

Garrett Jacob Hobbs watched Will return from wherever he had gone to and go back into his hotel room.  When Will opened the door Hobbs didn’t see any signs of movement or lights coming from a TV or anything.  He was becoming worried that Will had dropped Abigail off somewhere.  But no, that wasn’t right; her text had said she was in Peculiar.  He just needed to be patient and keep watch.  He was sure he’d be seeing his baby girl soon. 

A few hours later he saw Will leave the hotel again wearing different clothes.  Since it was dark now, Hobbs decided to follow Will and see where he went. 

*     *     *

Will stood outside Hannibal’s door thinking about going back to the motel, but he didn’t want to insult the man after he had told him he would come.  He was confused now as to why he had agreed to it in the first place.  He had been sitting at the restaurant trying to come up with an excuse to say no when he found himself suddenly saying yes instead. 

He sighed as he rang the bell.  He heard footsteps coming down the stairs immediately.  _One glass; just one glass of wine_ , he thought.  He could do this; he could be sociable for that long.  Hannibal answered the door and Will noticed he was again wearing a long sleeved white dress shirt along with a nice pair of slacks.  Will was glad now he had put on his one and only dress shirt he had packed, although it was slightly wrinkled. 

“I’m glad you could make it, Will,” Hannibal said smiling and leading Will upstairs to his apartment. 

It was kind of what Will was expecting:  tasteful, a bit upscale, a lot of neutral colors, but there were splashes of bold colors that were surprising.  The furniture was elegant and looked expensive, and the artwork on the walls looked like the real thing.  Will heard classical music playing softly in the background. 

Hannibal led Will to his living room where he already had a bottle of wine and two glasses set out on a small table that was positioned in front of a large bay window that looked out over Main Street.  Will could see the wine was chilled by the condensation on the bottle. 

As Will sat down Hannibal said, “I’ve selected a white wine that’s especially refreshing on hot summer days.  It’s La Posta Cocina Blanco de Blancos.  It’s a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontes.  It has subtle floral aromas with hints of citrus and orchard fruit.  It’s crisp and fairly broad across the palate.  It has a smooth texture with ample fruit-citrus medley of lemons, limes and grapefruit, and just a hint of apricot and peach.  I think you’ll enjoy it even if you aren’t usually partial to wine,” Hannibal said pouring Will a glass and smiling, and then pouring himself one. 

Will watched Hannibal sniff the bouquet of the wine, and Will copied him, not wanting to appear totally ignorant.  It smelled sweet and Will could pick up the citrusy fruity tones that Hannibal had mentioned.  He took a sip and found it surprisingly tasty. 

Hannibal started the conversation, and soon they had covered a wide variety of general topics.  Will was happy about this because he had been afraid that Hannibal was going to ask a lot of prying questions about him and Abigail.    

Hannibal turned out to be an excellent conversationalist—knowledgeable, intelligent and witty—and soon Will was actually starting to relax and enjoy their conversation very much.   At one point when the wine had loosened his tongue a bit Will said, “I have to ask you what the name of your cologne is.  It’s very nice and Abigail is always telling me the stuff I wear is more for seniors or sailors.” 

“Oh?” Hannibal said.  “What does it smell like to you?” 

Will inhaled deeply.   “It has a nice woodsy smell, like the forest right after it rains with hints of pine and cedar.  It smells like a fresh sparkling stream, and newly mowed grass.  I know that’s a lot of different smells, but it’s what I’m picking up.  What’s the name of it?” 

“To be honest, Will, I don’t wear cologne.” 

Will looked confused and blushed slightly.  “That’s strange because it’s coming across so clearly.  It must be coming from your shampoo.  Or possibly your fabric softener?” 

“Possibly,” Hannibal said examining Will.  Hannibal had released a small amount of his pheromones to try and relax Will a bit more so he would be more willing to open up.  His kind’s pheromones always took the form of scents the person found most pleasant.  A small dose of pheromones helped to relax a person; a larger dose would relax, excite, and slightly incapacitate. 

Now that Will was looking relaxed by the wine and his added pheromones, Hannibal decided it was time to bring up the subject he wanted to discuss with Will and see if he would open up about it. 

“So,” he started out, “I understand that you and your niece are running from her father, Garrett Jacob Hobbs.” 

Will had just taken a sip of wine when Hannibal dropped that little bomb on him, and the wine had gone right down the wrong way and Will choked and spilled wine down the front of his shirt.  Coughing heavily he sat the glass down on the table and pulled the bottom of his shirt out of his pants bunching it up to keep any wine from spilling down onto the upholstered chair he was sitting on.  He stood up and checked the chair and was relieved to see it was dry.  _Great.  This was just great_ , he thought.  _How the hell had Hannibal known that?_ He looked up at Hannibal then and said, “I’m sorry, but your question caught me off guard.  How in the world did you know that and how long have you known?”    

“Abigail told Randall Tier.  Randall is my half-sister’s son and he told me.” 

“She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that,” Will said still looking down at his shirt. 

“Let me get you a towel,” Hannibal offered, going into the bathroom.

The shirt was pretty wet, so rather than risk it dripping on the rug or something else Will decided the best thing to do was just take it off.  While he unbuttoned the shirt he was distracted, fuming about why Abigail had spilled the beans when he had specifically told her not to discuss that with anyone.  She could be putting people’s lives in danger. 

Will took the shirt off and balled it up and was wiping his chest with it when he heard Hannibal return.  He looked up and said, “Do you have an extra t-shirt or something I could bor…” but cut off when he saw that Hannibal had frozen in place and was now staring at his bare chest in an intense way that had him feeling uncomfortable.  Will dropped his eyes, frowning, and felt the sudden need to bring the balled up shirt to his chest in an attempt to partially cover himself.  He felt his heart rate pick up as adrenaline started coursing through his body, and he knew he was blushing.  He swallowed and licked his lips nervously and then raised his eyes questioningly and locked them with Hannibal’s, and his heart actually skipped a beat in fear at what he saw.   The closest emotion he could come up with to match the way Hannibal was looking at him right now was hunger.  A deep seated hunger, like the way a starving wolf looks at a rabbit right before it strikes. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know people have been anxious for this chapter, so without further adieu I give you Chapter 7 ...

“Do you have an extra t-shirt or something I could bor…” Will started, but cut off when he saw that Hannibal had frozen in place and was now staring at his bare chest in an intense way that had him feeling uncomfortable.  Will dropped his eyes, frowning, and felt the sudden need to bring the balled up shirt to his chest in an attempt to partially cover himself.  He felt his heart rate pick up as adrenaline started coursing through his body, and he knew he was blushing.  He swallowed and licked his lips nervously and then raised his eyes questioningly and locked them with Hannibal’s, and his heart actually skipped a beat in fear at what he saw.   The closest emotion he could come up with to match the way Hannibal was looking at him right now was hunger.  A deep seated hunger, like the way a starving wolf looks at a rabbit right before it strikes.  And Will could swear that he saw a glint of red in Hannibal’s eyes, but that was probably a trick of the light.  Still, it was disconcerting. 

Hannibal realized now that he had made a monumental mistake inviting Will up here.  He had known when he first laid eyes on him that he’d felt an instant attraction, but he had thought he had himself firmly under control.  But how could he have anticipated Will taking off his shirt in front of him?  I mean, taking off your shirt in front of one of his kind was akin to saying ‘come fuck me.’  It was totally unexpected and his body had reacted powerfully and he hadn’t been able to mask his expression before Will had seen it.  Then he had seen Will’s eyes widen and his breathing quicken and had smelled his fear, which had only excited him further. 

It took all of Will’s willpower to keep a calm outward appearance when his heart was hammering in his chest and his mind was screaming _Danger!_   As calmly as he could he said, “I’m sorry, Hannibal, I’ve made a mess of myself.  I need to go back to the motel and get a clean shirt.”  Will was relieved at how calm his voice sounded when he was anything but calm.  He turned and headed for the door, walking slowly and trying not to show the confusion and turmoil he was currently feeling.  He had no idea what had just happened; he just knew he had to get out of here right now or something bad was going to happen. 

He had just reached the door and put his hand on the doorknob when he froze.  He hadn’t heard Hannibal move, he hadn’t seen Hannibal move, but he suddenly knew without a shadow of a doubt that Hannibal was standing right behind him.  He felt the heat rolling off the man’s body and the slight brush of his breath against the back of his neck.   The hair suddenly  stood up all over Will’s body and he swallowed thickly.  How could anyone move that fast?  It wasn’t natural.  His heart was pounding in his chest.  Still trying to remain calm, he twisted the doorknob and had it pulled open a couple of inches when Hannibal’s hands appeared on the door on either side of his head and pushed the door back closed.  _Fuck!_

Hannibal knew Will sensed danger and was trying to get away from him, but his blood was up, and once that happened to one of his kind it was hard to back down.  Hannibal knew he shouldn’t, but he released more of his pheromones so that Will was enveloped in them.  This would make Will calm, but it would also excite him and make him more susceptible to him. 

Will inhaled that wonderful scent that seemed to be uniquely Hannibal’s, and he felt his body relaxing, the tension leaving him.   Why had he been so upset?  There was nothing to be upset about here.  His hand fell off the doorknob and he was suddenly feeling so relaxed he leaned back against Hannibal.  He felt Hannibal instantly push his nose into his hair and inhale deeply and it sent goosebumps up Will’s body and a twinge of excitement.  Still, there was something tickling at the back of his mind, like he was forgetting something or had been worried about something, but he couldn’t remember what it was now. 

Will’s scent had Hannibal becoming even more aroused.  Smell was important to his kind; they had very sensitive noses.  Hannibal knew he should stop.  He knew this was against the rules of his kind to touch anyone outside their family unless they had been thoroughly checked out and the family had decided to keep them.  He knew that Sheriff Dolarhyde was currently in the process of getting information on Will and Abigail and that it would be another day or two before they had the results and the family could decide.  Despite all that, Hannibal found he couldn’t stop even though he knew he should. 

Will felt himself pushed forward, shoved up against the door with Hannibal’s body pressing against him.  He had thrown his hands up on the door and Hannibal had grabbed his wrists and placed his forearms on top of Will’s own, pinning his arms effectively.  He felt Hannibal’s knee wedging itself between his thighs, forcing his legs apart.  His thought process didn’t seem to be currently working.  All he was aware of was what he was feeling now, and that was aroused, hot, restless. 

Hannibal was rubbing his cheek against the side of Will’s face, leaving trace amounts of pheromones on his skin.  He buried his face in Will’s neck and brought out the tip of his tongue and trailed it up the side of his throat, tasting him.  He felt Will shiver beneath him, and when Will responded like that it made him crazy.  He gave a single grind of his hips against Will’s ass, and Hannibal hissed as Will moaned and arched his back, pushing his ass more firmly into his groin. 

Will felt a sizable pressure on his ass and realized that either Hannibal was a very well-endowed man, or else he had a flashlight in his pocket.  He chuckled at his own joke. 

Hannibal heard Will chuckle and smiled.  “Are you enjoying yourself, Will?” he asked. 

“Mm-hmm,” he said dreamily.  “It’s funny though, I’ve never had a man come onto me like this before.”  Wait, there was that little niggling feeling in the back of his head again.  He frowned.  Why couldn’t he figure out what was wrong? 

Every now and then Hannibal felt Will’s body stiffen slightly and could tell that he was trying to fight the effects of his pheromones, and he was impressed by his strength and resistance. 

“You’re strong, Will,” Hannibal said softly while rubbing his face against Will’s.  “You put up a good fight,” he said.  Then he put his mouth next to Will’s ear and whispered, “I wonder if you fuck as hard as you fight.”  Hannibal felt Will shiver again.  “In my experience it’s always the shy ones that surprise you.”  Then Hannibal grazed his lips down Will’s neck to the juncture where it joined his shoulder and first licked a spot, then dug in his teeth and started sucking.  Will cried out and arched his back further. 

Hannibal grabbed Will’s hips and pulled them hard against his throbbing erection, while still sucking on his shoulder, bringing Will’s body a few inches away from the door.  He slid his hands around Will’s naked torso and placed one hand over Will’s heart, enjoying the fast cadence of it, and ran his other hand down Will’s stomach, stopping at the waistband to allow his fingertips to brush along the trail of fine hair under Will’s navel.  Hannibal felt Will’s body break out in a light sweat as his temperature climbed. 

Will felt hot, flushed, hard, restless, needy.  He was aroused and wanted Hannibal to let go of him so that he could tear off the rest of his clothes.  He wanted to be touched, licked, sucked, stroked, fucked.  He wanted to get down on the ground and be taken— _hard!_   Will’s mind was in an erotic fog, but that nagging feeling refused to go away and it was really annoying him.  He finally decided that since he couldn’t figure out what was bothering him, maybe Hannibal knew.  He would empathize with Hannibal to see if he could shed any light on what he was worrying about or forgetting, and then when he figured it out he could relax and they could get down to some serious fucking. 

Will lowered his mind shields and opened up his empathy, but frowned when he was met by a kind of white static.  It was as if Will was on an FM radio frequency trying to tune in to an AM station and he couldn’t tune it in because they were on different wavelengths.  This had never happened to him before.  He was at a loss to explain it.  However, trying to emphasize with Hannibal did clear some of the fog out of brain and he now realized exactly what was happening to him.  He felt the movement of fingers on his stomach and heard the sound of his own belt buckle being undone and he froze.  All at once his heart started hammering in his chest as he felt confusion and fear, excitement and revulsion, arousal and terror.  Just what the fuck was happening and why had he allowed it to get this far? 

Hannibal had his hands on Will’s belt buckle when he felt Will’s body stiffen.  He couldn’t contain his surprise when he realized that Will was somehow blocking the effects of his pheromones, and he had no idea how.  This was unheard of. 

Will was breathing hard as he thought about his next move.  He was still confused about how this had all come about, but he couldn’t allow it to go any further.  He would try reasoning with Hannibal first and pray that it worked because he really didn’t want to think about the alternative.  In a calm voice he said, “Hannibal, I really need to leave now.  _Please_.” 

Hannibal took a deep shuttering breath.  Will was somehow resisting his pheromones and the only way he could have him now was to force him, and that would risk exposure and put his family in jeopardy.  He never should have let it get this far in the first place.  With great effort Hannibal reluctantly removed his hands from Will and took a step back, clenching his hands into fists and squeezing them so tight he felt his nails break the skin. 

Will felt Hannibal release him but wouldn’t feel safe till he was out of this house.  He twisted the doorknob and stepped out into the stairwell, and without looking back at Hannibal he closed the door behind him and went quickly down the stairs. 

When he got outside he took several deep cleansing breaths and his mind seemed to clear immediately.  Now that he was away from Hannibal he couldn’t figure out why the hell he had let Hannibal touch him and fondle him like that in the first place.  He was not attracted to men, never had been.  What had just happened up there?  And why was he standing here now with a raging hard-on?  The fact that he was thinking clearly now told him he had not ingested any kind of drug.  Was it some sort of drug that you inhaled?  Maybe that scent around Hannibal was drug-related.  But then he’d smelled that same odor on him at the restaurant.  Nothing made sense. 

Will scrubbed his face with his hands.  He had no idea what just happened.  One minute he was standing there dealing with that spilt wine mess, and the next minute Hannibal was eye fucking him and had him shoved up against the door grinding on him.  But what disturbed Will even more was the fact that he had let him.  He had been aroused to the point where he had wanted to rip off his clothes and go down on all fours and present himself to Hannibal like a bitch in heat.  He had actually wanted to be mounted and fucked senseless.  While he was in Hannibal’s apartment he had really wanted it.  It’s like his mind had shut down and his body had gone into some sort of sexual overdrive.  It was terrifying how close he had come to letting it happen. 

Will noticed his hands were shaking.  He brought one hand up to the spot on the top of his shoulder where Hannibal had been sucking.  The skin there was actually tingling, and when he put his fingers on it he actually felt his cock jerk.  Something was just not normal about this town.  The sooner he and Abigail left Peculiar, the better. 

As he hastily redid his belt he realized he had dropped his shirt at some point in Hannibal’s apartment and was now shirtless, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to go back up there to ask Hannibal for it.  It was after 10:30 now and dark, so he just headed back to the motel at a brisk pace. 

 

Hannibal stood staring at the door for several minutes after Will left breathing hard and trying to get himself under control.  He was holding Will’s shirt in front of his nose while rubbing his throbbing cock through his pants.  He had come so close to losing control with Will.  That had never happened to him before.  He had never been so intrigued and wanted someone as intensely in his entire life the way he wanted this man.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if they couldn’t keep him.  He would be tempted to break the rules and take him anyway just so that they would be forced to keep him.  He couldn’t wait until the sheriff received the report and the subsequent family meeting so he could find out if Will would be staying, and if he was, Hannibal was going to spend a week just getting to know every square inch of Will Graham.

 

Sheriff Dolarhyde was driving around patrolling the streets one last time before turning in for the night when he spotted Will Graham walking swiftly down the sidewalk, and something about his body language was showing distress.  When his car beams swept over him he also saw that he was shirtless.  Shit, that was dangerous in this town.  He pulled the car over and braced himself so he could address a shirtless Will Graham, but when he opened the door and got out he wasn’t prepared for the scent of arousal and Hannibal’s pheromones that rolled off Will.  He gripped the car door hard while he got himself under control enough to speak.  Finally, he called out, “Mr. Graham, is everything okay?  You seem a bit distressed.” 

“What?  No, sheriff, I’m fine.  Just heading back to the motel.  Thank you for checking.” 

The sheriff shook his head and tried to control the heat that was suddenly infusing his body as he watched Will walk away.  What was interesting was that even though Will was saturated in Hannibal’s pheromones, he could tell they hadn’t had sex; he would have smelled that on Will immediately.  How in the world had Will gotten away from Hannibal at the point of being saturated in his pheromones?  Plus, Hannibal knew the rules.  He wasn’t supposed to touch either of them until they had been cleared to be assimilated into the family.  The sheriff was still waiting for the report to come back on the two of them. 

Sheriff Dolarhyde got back in his car and discretely followed Will back to the motel.  Will would have been in big trouble if he had run into someone like Matthew Brown or Cordell Doemling running around with his shirt off and the smell of arousal on his skin.  Once the sheriff saw Will safely enter his motel room he left, but made a note to mention to Hannibal’s mother what he had witnessed.  She would be _very_ interested to hear this. 

*     *     *

Garrett Jacob Hobbs glanced at his watch.  It was after ten-thirty and still no sign of Abigail.  Maybe she had made friends with someone in town and was staying at their house.  He was about to call it a night and close his eyes and get some rest when he spotted his brother-in-law walking quickly to his motel door and fumbling with the lock before he finally got inside and shut the door.  Hmm, Will had looked a bit flustered.  Plus, when he left the motel earlier he was wearing a shirt, and now he was not.  What the hell was up with that?   He had followed his brother-in-law and watched him go into some man’s apartment above the restaurant.  Maybe Will was into dudes and went and got himself laid.  Garrett Jacob Hobbs smiled.  Will was always so uptight—he needed to get laid.  At least he didn’t have to worry about Will and Abigail sharing a room now. 

Then he crouched down lower in his seat when he saw that a sheriff’s car had driven up to the edge of the parking lot and stopped.  He could swear the man inside the car was looking toward the door where Will just went inside.  After a couple minutes the sheriff’s car drove away and Hobbs relaxed.  _And what was that about?_ he wondered.  Garrett Jacob Hobbs just shook his head.  Will Graham was a total freak show.  The sooner he got Abigail away from him, the better. 

 

About two hours later Garrett Jacob Hobbs was half dozing in the van when he heard a car pull up, and when he looked up, there she was, his Abigail, stepping out of a car.  Even in the dark he could tell it was her.  Then he saw what appeared to be a boy step out of the driver’s side right behind her.  The boy walked her to the same room Will was staying in and then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.  Hobbs felt his blood boil.  How dare he put his hands on Abigail, and how dare she let him!  She was his and his alone!  Plus, when he looked down at his watch it was almost 1:00 in the morning!  What was she doing out with him so late!  That fucking uncle of hers was letting her run wild!  He picked up one of the knives he had laying on the seat next to him and gripped it tightly.  He had to hold onto the steering wheel to keep from jumping out of the van right now and gutting that boy like a deer.  When the boy finally stepped back and Abigail went into the room, he took a deep breath and relaxed a bit watching the boy get back in his car and drive away. 

He knew where Will and Abigail were now, and he knew that their car was over at the gas station, presumably for repairs.  The only unknown factor was how long he had before their car would be fixed.  He didn’t want to rush this, didn’t want to make any mistakes, but if their car was going to be ready in the morning he might miss his opportunity.  Still, even if they did leave in the morning he could tail them discretely to their next stop.  Maybe he would stop off at the gas station first thing in the morning and make discrete inquiries about the car, ask if it’s for sale or something like that.  Then he would be able to make his plans and set them into motion.   He crouched down in the van and closed his eyes.  It wouldn’t be long now before he and Abigail would be together, forever. 


	8. Chapter 8

**_ Monday _ **

The next morning at 7:15 Hannibal Lecter was standing in front of Will and Abigail's motel room with his arm raised ready to knock on the door, but he held off as he considered all the different scenarios he might face when the door opened.  Will might be angry or aggressive, he might be confused or scared.  Hannibal needed to test the waters after their less than favorable parting last night and see what Will’s mindset was.  He didn’t want Will to avoid him.  He was hoping that if Will were angry or confused he might be able to convince him that they were both a little tipsy on the wine and things had just gotten slightly out of hand.  That was his game plan anyway.  Since he had strongly suspected that Will wouldn’t be coming to the restaurant this morning, Hannibal had decided to take the bull by the horns.  He had put Tobias Budge, his sous chef, in charge of the cooking, and had brought along a couple of protein scramblers and some gourmet coffee for Will and his niece as a sort of peace offering. 

After running through all the possible scenarios in his head and putting a smile on his face, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.  He heard some rustling and a thud and a muffled curse, and then the door was jerked open and Hannibal’s greeting froze on his lips and he groaned.  Well, here was one scenario he definitely hadn’t considered:  Will Graham answering the door in nothing but a t-shirt and boxer shorts with sleep mussed hair. 

Hannibal closed his eyes and counted to five and tried to halt his body’s reaction.  He had erred yet again.  But, I mean, seriously, who answers the door in their underwear?  Apparently Will Graham.  Will was going to be the death of him. 

Hannibal had actually taken a step forward and was fighting to get himself under control when he heard, “Who is it, Uncle Will?” coming from the direction of the second bed, and took a step back. 

When Will saw Hannibal standing at the door he was just about to give him an earful until he saw the man’s eyes travel up and down his body and his expression change.  He looked suddenly tense, and Will swore he saw that red glint to his eyes again.  Will looked down then and realized he had answered the door in his underwear.  He blushed then, feeling suddenly self-conscious, and said, “Excuse me for a minute,” and closed the door and grabbed a pair of jeans.  “It’s just Hannibal from the restaurant, Abigail.” 

“Is he the one that gave you that hickey?” Hannibal heard her ask through the door. 

“No!  That’s not a hickey; I just ran into something … with my neck.” 

“Mm-hmm.” 

Hannibal stood outside and shook his head.  He was still picturing the vision Will presented answering the door in his underwear.  Will had no idea how much danger he put himself in by constantly flashing that perfect skin of his all over the place.  I mean, what if Matthew Brown had knocked on the door to see if they needed anything?  Hannibal was feeling suddenly angry and he wasn’t sure why.  Then the door opened and Will was thankfully wearing a pair of pants now, but still no shoes.  He stepped out of the room looking grumpy while tugging up the collar of his t-shirt, and closed the door behind him. 

Hannibal decided to make the first move.  “I brought you and Abigail some breakfast since I didn’t see either of you this morning.  I wanted to check up on you.” 

“As you can see, I’m fine.  I just had trouble getting to sleep last night with certain rather confusing thoughts going through my mind,” he said looking pointedly at Hannibal.  “Would you like to explain to me what happened at your place last night?” 

So, no beating around the bush then, Hannibal thought.  “Well, I admit that things moved rather quickly, but we both had had a bit of wine and you did start to disrobe in front of me,” Hannibal countered smoothly. 

Will looked stunned.  “Disrobe?  You mean because I took my shirt off after spilling wine on it?  That wasn’t an invitation for you to pin me up against the door and … and … you know!”  Will had hissed that last part softly, clearly not wanting Abigail or any of the neighboring residents of the motel to overhear. 

“Well, correct me if I’m wrong,” Hannibal countered, “but you never once said the word stop.”

“I know I didn’t!” Will said looking equal parts mad and confused.  “And that’s why I know that something was not right about that whole situation.  I have never in my life been attracted to a man, and all of a sudden I was letting you take advantage of me in ways I never would have unless I was drugged or … ”

“Drunk?” Hannibal said, cutting him off. 

“I was not drunk!  Not on two glasses of wine!” 

“People who aren’t used to wine sometimes find the effects more intense than they expect.  I apologize if I misinterpreted your actions removing your shirt.  I may have been slightly tipsy myself, and I do find you attractive.  Apparently I’m a little more open-minded when it comes to relationships.” 

“I didn’t mean …”  Will frowned.  Hannibal was turning this whole thing around and making it sound like he was a narrow-minded, conservative prude.  “Fine.  Nothing actually happened, I suppose.  Just as long as you’re clear now that I’m not interested in you that way.  It’s not that I don’t think you’re attractive … ( _Shit!_   Will cringed as he realized how badly he was mucking this up) … but I’m just not hardwired to be attracted to men.” 

“I understand,” Hannibal said smiling.  “So now that we’ve cleared up that unfortunate misunderstanding, I hope to see you and your niece both at the restaurant later on tonight.” 

“I suppose,” Will sighed, taking the bag that Hannibal offered him.  “There’s no question you’re an incredible cook.”  Hannibal was staring at him intently again and Will just blushed and looked away.  “Anyway, thank you for bringing this over,” he said, indicating the bags Hannibal had handed him. 

“You’re quite welcome.  I’ll see you later, Will.” 

Watching Hannibal walk away Will couldn’t figure out how Hannibal had manipulated that whole conversation.  Will still knew something happened last night that didn’t fit within the normal scheme of things, but somehow Hannibal had managed to pass it off as a little too much wine and relaxed inhibitions.  Will wouldn’t avoid the restaurant, but he was not going to be caught alone with that man ever again either.  

Hannibal was smiling as he walked away.  He loved the pink flush that came to Will’s skin as they were verbally sparring.  He had also caught a glimpse of the suck bruise he had put at the juncture of Will’s shoulder peeking up over the collar of his t-shirt, and it was a pleasant reminder of when he had had his mouth on Will’s bare skin.  Francis had said he would have the results of the background checks on Will and Abigail this afternoon, and the family was scheduled to meet at 10:00 tonight to discuss them.  Hannibal couldn’t wait till the meeting so that he would finally know whether Will would be staying permanently in Peculiar. 

*     *     *

Garrett Jacob Hobbs headed over to the garage bright and early, and as he filled up the van with gas he started some small talk with the kid that seemed to run the place.   He asked about the blue Lexus.  He told the kid that he had a daughter going off to college and a car like that would be perfect for her.  The kid told him that the car belonged to someone else and they were just waiting for a part to arrive so he could fix it. Garrett Jacob Hobbs had been afraid if he pressed further it would sound suspicious, so he left it at that.  But at least he knew the part hadn’t arrived yet.  If everything went his way he would have his daughter back with him sometime tonight. 

*     *     *

Around noon Will walked over to the Dairy Queen to get some lunch.  Abigail had gone over to the gas station to hang out with Randall, and Will wasn’t ready to face Hannibal again just yet.  After he ate he decided to just walk along Main Street and do a little window shopping.  They did have quite a few shops, no doubt meant to entice tourists to spend more money while in town.  He spotted a small sporting goods store and was admiring a fishing rod they had displayed in the window.  He wondered if there was a lake or river nearby.  Maybe he would go in and make inquiries.  It was another hot day and his t-shirt was sticking to him and a few minutes of air conditioning would feel good about now.  But just then he spotted a woman’s reflection in the store glass right over his shoulder. 

Will turned and tried to take a step back but came up against the plate glass window.  The woman was standing a little closer than Will felt comfortable with.  She was very attractive, but Will didn’t like the intense way she was looking at him. 

She must have noticed his discomfort because she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.  I’m Margot Verger.  I run the beauty salon a few doors down and I spotted you and wanted to say hello.  You’re Will, right?”  She raked Will with her eyes and said, “Well, I see the rumors about you weren’t exaggerated.” 

“Rumors?  What rumors?”  Will decided then and there that he and Abigail were not going to live in a small town.  There was just way too much gossip and absolutely no privacy. 

“Oh, just what a handsome devil you are,” she said. 

Margot watched Will blush bright red.  He was gorgeous and didn’t even realize it.  Margot knew Alana was hot for this one.  Maybe she could beat her to the punch. 

“Will, would you like to go to the tavern across the street for a drink?  I’m on my break now and would love to have something cold, like a frozen margarita.” 

Will started to make up some excuse when he suddenly realized how nice she smelled.  Sort of like fresh cinnamon rolls when they first come out of the oven.  He was also feeling a little light-headed, probably from the heat, so he found himself saying ‘sure’ instead. 

As they entered the tavern and headed for the bar, Will couldn’t help but sigh at how good the cool air felt.  The bartender looked at them both and said, “Margot, who have we here?” 

“Oh, this is Will Graham.  Will, this is Abel Gideon.” 

“Mr. Graham, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Abel said putting out his hand. 

 _Why the hell does everyone keep saying that?_  Will thought thoroughly frustrated.  

“Mr. Gideon,” Will said, clasping the man’s hand for a handshake, “only good things, I hope.” 

“Oh, definitely.  Now, what can I get you two?” 

“I’ll have a frozen margarita.  Will?” 

“Just a whiskey on the rocks.” 

As they went to sit at one of the tables, Will spotted the Chiltons sitting at a table nearby and he wondered why they were still in town.  Clearly being here was upsetting to them both, especially to Beverly. 

Abel arrived then and set their drinks in front of them, and Will watched as Abel bent over and whispered “Behave yourself,” in Margot’s ear before heading back to the bar. 

“What was that about?” Will asked. 

“Oh, he just worries too much.  He’s my uncle.  Just ignore him. “ 

As they sat sipping their drinks, Will was secretly hoping that Margot needed to get back to work soon because the conversation was getting more and more awkward.  Margot had moved her chair closer to Will and she kept finding reasons to touch him or rub up against him, and some of her comments were decidedly full of innuendo.  He looked over at the bartender, who Margot said was her uncle, and saw he was frowning.  Will needed to get away from this woman. 

Finally he had had enough and said, “Excuse me for a minute, won’t you please, Margot?  I just want to say hello to my friends, the couple over there.”  Then before Margot could protest he got up and went over to Frederick and Beverly’s table and sat down with his back to Margot.  “Hi, guys.  I wanted to say hello and see how you’re doing,” he said in a normal voice.  Then he dropped his voice and said, “I don’t know if you remember me—Will Graham—but we took the tour of Beast House together yesterday.  I hate to intrude, but this girl behind me asked me to have drinks with her and now she’s coming on really strong and I need a reason to part company with her without hurting her feelings.  So would it be alright with you guys if I went back and told her you were having some issues and needed to talk to me?  I told her I knew you guys.  It would be a huge favor.  I’ll buy you both drinks, whatever you want.  _Please_ ,” he begged. 

Bev and Frederick exchanged looks and then glanced over at the woman in question, who was staring at Will’s backside with a sort of intensity that took them both by surprise.  

“Yes, I think in this instance we can help you out,” Frederick said, looking at Bev for her approval.  Bev nodded as well. 

“Thank you guys so much.  I’ll go give her the bad news.  What would you two like?” 

“Whatever you’re having will be fine,” Frederick said. 

“Whiskey?” 

“That’s fine.” 

Will went over and explained the situation to Margot who looked decidedly put out.  She gave Bev and Frederick a pouty, disgruntled look before she flounced out of the bar.  Will noticed her uncle was smirking, so maybe she had pulled this on other tourists in the past. 

After he ordered the three drinks he went and sat down with Frederick and Beverly. 

“Since I was on the tour with you I couldn’t help but hear what you said about your son.  Would I be out of line if I asked what exactly happened?” Will said gingerly not wanting to upset them, especially Bev. 

“It was all over the news after it happened,” Frederick said. 

“I’m not from around here.  I didn’t see the story,” Will apologized. 

Frederick sighed.  “Our son and three of his friends were on break from college and decided to drive out to Utah where one of the boys’ parents has a cabin.  They were driving back, taking their time, stopping at certain tourist spots along the way and decided to visit Beast House since they had heard about it and it didn’t really take them out of their way.  After they took the tour, our son and one of the other boys had the bright idea of breaking into the house that night and stealing one of the manikins to take back to their frat house as a prank.  Well, you saw what the manikins looked like for yourself.  So the two of them went and broke in and didn’t come back that night.  The other two boys waited longer than they should have to report it, but they didn’t want to get them in trouble if it turned out they had spent the night somewhere else. 

The next day the sheriff went into Beast House and found them both, their bodies all clawed up and chewed on.  Of course the house was searched and there was no sign of the so-called beast.   Bev and I think it’s some sort of conspiracy the town is involved in.  I mean, a town this small needs the tourists that Beast House brings in to keep it alive.  The killings have been going on since the ‘50s.  It’s just not possible that it’s the same person or whatever that’s been doing the killing all these years.” 

“Yes, I thought the same thing,” Will said.  “Look, if it makes you feel any better, I was planning on phoning the FBI after I leave town and speaking with my supervisor about this.  Maybe they can figure out what’s going on here.” 

“The FBI?,” Bev said surprised. 

“I work for them as a teacher and consultant.  I agree that there’s something fishy going on here and that your son’s death should be looked into a little more closely.” 

Will saw tears trailing down Bev’s face, and he looked at Frederick feeling uncomfortable. 

“We’ve asked several different organizations to look into this and we’ve gotten a lot of ‘it’s not within our jurisdiction’,” Frederick explained.  That foul house needs to be destroyed.  Did you notice the so-called beast only kills in that house and nowhere else?” 

Will nodded.  “Yes, I did notice that as well.  Let me talk to Jack and see what he says.  How long are you guys staying in town?” 

“We’ll be leaving bright and early tomorrow.  We just have one more thing to do before we leave,” Frederick said, and Will thought he sounded peculiar. 

“Well, I promise I’ll talk to him in a few days.  I just want to be out of this town when I do it.” 

Then Will shook their hands and left, hoping Margot would be back at work by now and not lurking outside.  Will looked over at the bartender to say goodbye and had the strangest feeling that the bartender had been listening in and had heard every word they’d said.  But that was impossible; their table was too far away.  Nobody’s hearing was that good.   

After Will and the Chiltons left Abel Gideon pulled out his cell phone and made a call.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garrett Jacob Hobbs is getting closer and closer. Come back tomorrow, same time.


	9. Chapter 9

Around 7:00 p.m. Will and Abigail went over to the restaurant to have dinner.  Will asked Alana for a table.  He would eat at the restaurant, but the further away he was from Hannibal, the better.  He saw Hannibal look up at him and smile and he smiled back in acknowledgement, but he refused to look in Hannibal’s direction for the rest of the time he was there.  It was around 8:15 when they made their way back to the motel.  The sun was sitting low on the horizon, the days being longer now. 

Will opened the door to their motel room and went inside with Abigail close on his heels.  As he turned to close the door and flip the light switch on, he was grabbed from behind and felt the press of cold steel against his neck.  Will froze as he heard Garrett Jacob Hobbs say, “Hello, baby girl.  It took some doing, but daddy found you despite Will here trying to hide you from me.” 

How the hell had Garrett Jacob Hobbs found them?  They hadn’t spoken to anyone since they left Wolf Trap.  He looked over at Abigail, who was facing them with a look of shock on her face. 

“Aren’t you glad to see me, baby?” Garrett Jacob Hobbs said with an excited tremor in his voice that Will heard all too clearly.  Clearly Garrett Jacob Hobbs had expected Abigail to be overjoyed to see him again.  Will knew that this was a precarious situation they were in and hoped that Abigail wouldn’t betray her true feelings right now.  He looked at Abigail and tried to give her a look that expressed caution. 

Abigail looked between her father and Uncle Will with horror.  Her dad had the blade pressed tightly against her Uncle Will’s jugular.  It wouldn’t take much pressure on that knife to have her uncle bleeding out all over the floor within a couple minutes.  She licked her lips and smiled up at her dad.  “Of course I’m happy to see you, daddy.  I was just surprised is all.  How in the world did you know where to find me?” she asked. 

“You told me where to find you, sweetpea.” 

“What!” Abigail said, her smile fading as she looked at her uncle who was giving her an incredulous look.  “No I didn’t.” 

“Well, you didn’t know it was me.  You thought you were telling Marissa Schurr.”

“Marissa?” Abigail said uneasily, remembering the text she received from her two days ago.   

“Sure, honey.  I figured you might still be in touch with her, so I went over to her house and used her phone to text you a message.  Remember?  That was Saturday.  You replied back right away saying you were in Peculiar.  Thankfully with a name like that there was only one in the entire country.  I was kind of thinking that maybe you instinctively knew it was me texting you, hoping to lead me to you.” 

“Is Marissa all right?” she asked looking over at her uncle who wouldn’t meet her eyes now.  How had she been so stupid. 

“Oh, sure, honey,” he lied.  I just left her tied up.  I’m sure she got herself free after a couple hours. 

Abigail watched his eyes as he said that.  _Lie._   She could always tell when he lied.  Marissa was dead.  Within two days of being released from prison he had already killed someone, and there was a good chance he was going to kill Uncle Will too.  Well, she couldn’t let that happen. 

“So,” she said, pasting a smile back on her face, “where are we going to go, daddy?” 

“I was thinking Canada.  We can find a nice spot in the woods and build us a log cabin and live off the land.  No one will ever bother us again.  It’ll just be me and you, honey, the way it should be.” 

“And what about Uncle Will?” she asked.  “He is my only other living relative and I am kind of fond of him.” 

“He didn’t touch you, did he?” he asked frowning, pressing the knife even tighter against Will’s throat till she saw a streak of red appear under the blade. 

“No!  Of course not!  He just thought he was protecting me is all.  So why don’t we just tie him up and get out of here and head on up to Canada.” 

Garrett Jacob Hobbs smiled at her warmly and eased the pressure of the knife off her uncle’s throat. 

Abigail was fighting the nausea she felt and didn’t know how much longer she could keep this fake smile on her face.  She knew her Uncle Will knew how to fight if she could just figure out a way to give him an opening.    

“Let me find some rope or string to tie him up,” Abigail said. 

“I don’t know if we can let him live, baby.  He knows now we’re going up to Canada, so if we let him live he’ll alert the border patrol to be on the lookout for us.  But don’t worry, honey, I’ll slit his throat and we can take him along, and then later on when there’s more time I’ll make sure to honor every part of him.  That way it’s not murder.  How does that sound?” 

“Well don’t slit his throat here or they’ll see the blood and alert the police and send out patrols,” Abigail said, trying to delay her uncle’s death.

“Good thinking, sweetheart.  You always were good at thinking on your feet.  I’ve got a van.  I can slit his throat in the back of the van.  Gather up all the towels in the bathroom to soak up the blood.” 

“All right, daddy, just give me a minute to gather my things.”  Abigail went into the bathroom first and grabbed the towels.  She needed a second to think.  When she came out of the bathroom she had an idea that she hoped would work.  She threw the towels on the bed and made like she was throwing her clothes back into the garbage bag she was using in lieu of a suitcase.  “Daddy, check outside and make sure the coast is clear,” she said.  She also made brief eye contact with her uncle hoping he understood that to mean be ready. 

As soon as her father turned toward the door with Will in front of him, knife still at his throat, Abigail grabbed one of her long-sleeved shirts and wound the sleeves around her hands and snuck up behind him.  As he was reaching down to twist the doorknob she threw the shirt over his head, and when it was in front of his throat she pulled back with all her might. 

Will felt Garrett Jacob Hobbs stumble back, and the knife come away from his throat as Hobbs tried to regain his balance.  That was all Will needed.  He grabbed the wrist holding the knife and pushed it away from his throat while giving him a sharp kidney jab with his elbow.  Garrett Jacob Hobbs doubled over in pain and Will took the wrist holding the knife and slammed it into the wall several times until he dropped it. 

Will managed to get behind the taller man and get his arm wrapped around his throat.  As they staggered together, Will felt his knees hit the edge of the mattress and he held onto Garrett Jacob Hobbs as he leaned backwards, landing onto the mattress where he used the momentum of the bounce to immediately rolled over and pin the other man face down underneath him onto the bed. 

Breathing heavy Will said, “Get me something to tie him up with.” 

Abigail ran around desperately looking for something they could use.  Finally in a panic she ripped the phone cord out of the wall and handed it to Will. 

“You traitor!” Garrett Jacob Hobbs yelled.  “How could you do this to me?  I’ve always loved you and this is how you repay me!?  I even killed your mother so we could finally be together!” 

“You’ve been raping me since I was eight years old!  I was your daughter, not your wife, and you took advantage of me.  How could you!?  You’re no daddy of mine!” she said with all the pent up fury she felt. 

After Will tied Garrett Jacob Hobbs’ hands behind his back he said, “So, I guess we should call Sheriff Dolarhyde and …”

“NO!” Abigail yelled.  “The so-called legal justice system has already let him go once.  I say we kill him and get rid of the body.” 

“We’re not killing him.  I’m not letting him turn you into a killer.” 

“Well, I don’t want to hand him over to the police!” she said.  Abigail paced the room looking agitated and then suddenly froze.  “I say we give him to the beast.  Anyone who has broken into Beast House has wound up dead.  We take him up there wrapped up all nice and pretty and let the beast kill him.  The tour gets another attraction and we’re rid of him once and for all with no blood on our hands.” 

Will would rather turn him over to the sheriff, but he could see why Abigail felt the way she did.  If Garrett Jacob Hobbs was arrested right now and if he hadn’t hurt Marissa Schurr like he said, then although he had threatened Will, he hadn’t actually hurt him.  It was possible he could be released from prison in just a few short years and this nightmare would start up all over again. 

“All right,” Will said finally, “we’ll see if the beast will take him.  But if the beast doesn’t take him, then we turn him over to the sheriff.  Agreed?” 

“Agreed.  The beast will take him, I know it.” 

Will honestly thought the so-called beast was a man continuing the legacy of whoever or whatever killed the first few people, but maybe this would be a good way of finding out who or what had killed the Chilton’s son and help them find closure. 

“All right, you heard your daughter,” Will said as he pulled Garrett Jacob Hobbs onto his feet, “we’re giving you to the beast.”  Will grabbed his gun out of his duffel bag and checked the load. 

“Oh, right.  Is that supposed to scare me?,” Garrett Jacob Hobbs sneered.  “By all means, give me to the beast.  _Woooo_.” 

Will stuffed a washcloth in his mouth to gag him and ripped a piece of the sheet off the bed to wrap around his head to keep the gag in place.  Boy, Matthew was going to be pissed with them when he saw the damage to the room.  He saw more of their precious funds going down the drain.  But at least now they would be able to go back to Wolf Trap.  The thought of going home made him feel better.  Tomorrow Garrett Jacob Hobbs would either be dead or locked up and they could go home. 

Will turned off the light and opened the door.  Thankfully it was fully dark now.  When he saw the coast was clear he grabbed Garrett Jacob Hobbs by the arm and pulled him outside.  Abigail took his other arm and they headed up to Beast House on foot since it wasn’t that far and a car parked in front of Beast House might draw attention this time of the night.  The house looked even creepier in the dark highlighted by a moon that was nearly full tonight.  Will was afraid they might run into someone, but for a change, it seemed, luck was on their side. 

When they reached the gravel driveway that led up the incline to the house Will spotted two figures running behind the house.  In the light of the moon he was pretty sure it was the Chiltons, and he was pretty sure he saw Frederick carrying a gas can. 

 “Shit!  Abigail, move faster!” Will said. 

“What’s the hurry?” she whispered.  “Did someone spot us?” 

“No, but I believe the Chiltons are going to torch the house tonight unless we get to them first.” 

“Who are the Chiltons?” 

“That couple on the tour who lost their son to the beast three weeks ago.” 

“Oh, crap!  If they torch the house, what are we going to do with him?” 

“If they torch the house we’ll have to turn him over to the sheriff.” 

“No fucking way!  We have to stop them!” 

Abigail began pulling her father faster up the incline of the driveway.  As they reached the front of the house Will thought he heard glass breaking in the back.  

“Around back.  Quick!” Will said. 

They ran to the back and saw glass broken out of the back door window and the door standing wide open.  They walked through the door and heard floorboards creaking, and Will could pick up the faint smell of gasoline now.  Will moved forward pulling Garrett Jacob Hobbs behind him with Abigail coming up the rear. 

“Frederick!  Beverly!” Will called out. 

“Who’s there?” he heard a man’s voice say. 

“It’s Will Graham.  We had drinks earlier today, remember?” 

“What are you doing here,” Frederick said shining a flashlight in his face and coming over to stand in front of them.  “And why is this man gagged?” 

“Well, this man is the reason why we came up to this house and then happened to see you.  This is Garrett Jacob Hobbs.  He’s also known as the Minnesota Shrike.” 

Frederick looked at the man closer and said, “You’re kidding, right?”  

“Sadly, no.” 

“He’s my dad,” Abigail said. 

“Oh my.  That’s unfortunate.” 

“You have no idea,” Will said.  “The point is that he came to town looking for his daughter and plans to do her harm, so we thought we might let the beast of Beast House take care of him for us.  We can’t do that, however, if you burn it down.  Besides, I thought you were going to let me talk to the FBI about this.” 

“We’ve been disappointed too many times trying to get people to help us.  The only real solution, as far as we’re concerned, is to destroy the house.” 

“Well, perhaps you could wait a few hours while we see if there is indeed a beast and whether he’ll come and eliminate this particular problem for us.” 

Frederick looked back at his wife who was listening in, and then back at Will when she didn’t offer any objections.  “What’s your plan?” 

“Well, since most of the killings seem to have happened on the second floor, I was going to take him up there and tie his feet so he can’t run away and leave him lying in the hallway while we hide in one of the rooms and keep watch.  If the beast comes for him, that’s one problem solved.  If it doesn’t, we’ll have to take him back and turn him over to Sheriff Dolarhyde.” 

“That could be dangerous,” Frederick said.  “What if the beast comes and sees or hears you?”

“I have my service revolver with me just in case.” 

“I suppose we could wait a couple hours,” Frederick said.  “I’d actually like to stick around see what killed our son.  Bev?” 

“I’d like to see what killed our son as well,” Bev said with steel in her voice. 

“But, Will,” Frederick said, “if the so-called beast doesn’t come and you end up turning him over to the sheriff, you have to agree to leave here and keep your mouth shut and let me and Bev finish what we started.  We’re going to burn this accursed house to the ground and end the legend of Beast House once and for all.” 

“Deal,” Will said.  “Now, let’s drag him upstairs and see if the beast takes the bait.” 

They took Garrett Jacob Hobbs upstairs and Will ended up just tying his shoelaces together to keep him from being able to get up and walk away; then they laid him face down on the floor a ways down from where the chairs were marking where the Chilton’s son and the other boy had died.  They picked a room a couple doors down facing Hobbs’ head, and the four of them filed in and left the door open a crack while they kept watch.  There was a window at one end of the hallway that let in enough moonlight so that they could see Garrett Jacob Hobbs fairly clearly.  Will still wasn’t sure what to expect, if anything. 

The minutes turned into an hour with nothing happening.  Garrett Jacob Hobbs was grunting and clearly trying to get free of his bonds.  Will was on his knees peeking through the crack while trying to stay alert, and Beverly was standing above him keeping an eye out.  She had gotten a poker out of the fireplace and Will was holding his revolver in one hand and the Chiltons’ flashlight in the other.  Frederick and Abigail were looking out the window in the room to make sure no one had spotted them going into the house and called the sheriff. 

“Maybe we should take the gag off him,” Bev suggested as another 15 minutes ticked by.  Maybe he needs to make some noise to attract the beast.  Maybe this thing hunts by sound.” 

Will considered this for a few seconds.  He still thought the beast was a man, but maybe if Garrett Jacob Hobbs made some noise and the man was anywhere in the house, the noise would draw him.  The only other house that was close to Beast House was the one that Bedelia lived in, and since it didn’t appear to have any windows it was probably pretty soundproof.  “Okay, it’s worth a shot.” 

Will set the flashlight and gun on the floor and stood up and went out in the hallway and took the gag off Hobbs who immediately started gasping for air and cursing at them.  “You people are fucking pathetic.  A beast?  Really?  How gullible are you.  Abigail, I gave you more credit than this shit-for-brains uncle of yours.  I always knew he had a screw loose.  And you other two going for this delusion—fucking pathetic.” 

“It killed our son just three weeks ago!” Bev shouted at him, her voice cracking. 

“Shhh!” Will said.  We want the beast to find him, not us.” 

“I don’t think it’s coming,” Frederick said.  “It’s been over an hour now and …”

They all froze. 

“What was that?” they all heard Garrett Jacob Hobbs say.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He-he-he (deep, raspy voice). Come back tomorrow night, same time, same place.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the great comments, guys. I hope you continue to be intrigued.

“What was that?” they all heard Garrett Jacob Hobbs say. 

Will rushed back into the room and closed the door, again leaving only a crack open as they listened to the silence, their hearts now pounding as one.  He picked up the flashlight and the gun and waited.  Then they heard it, a soft brittle laugh.  The hair on Will’s arms stood up.  He couldn’t tell what direction the laugh had come from.    

“Fucking shit!” Will heard Garrett Jacob Hobbs say, panic clearly in his voice now.  “Holy fucking shit, there’s someone coming!  Guys?  Damn it, you guys!  Abigail baby, help daddy!” 

Will was standing slightly bent over so Bev could see over his head.  They were both looking intently into the hallway for any signs of movement.  Will tucked his revolver under his armpit for a second so he could wipe his suddenly moist palm on the leg of his jeans.  He swallowed and took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves and relax his slightly trembling gun hand. 

“Guys!  There’s somebody here.  GUYS!” 

Will heard a stair creak. 

“Hey, who are you, huh?  Can you help me?  There’s these people, they tied me up.  I mean, I’m not trespassing.  I’ve been kidnapped.  Can you help me?  Can you untie … oh shit.  _OH SHIT!_   _GUYS!!_ ”    

Will heard the laughter again and it startled him how much closer it was this time.  He wanted to see how the other three were handling this, especially Abigail, but he was afraid to take his eyes off Hobbs. 

“Oh God!”  Hobbs was starting to cry.  “Oh God, sweet Jesus!” he sobbed.  “Oh Jesus, get it away!  Get it away!” 

Behind him Will heard Bev moan in horror.  Although they still hadn’t seen anything, Hobbs’ cries were unsettling. 

Garrett Jacob Hobbs screamed as the beast sprang.  Its pounce seemed to knock the wind out of him, cutting his outcry short. 

Will heard a sickening gnashing sound and straightened up and pulled the door open and aimed the flashlight at the beast and flicked it on.  He didn’t get a clear look at it though before Bev shoved him aside and went charging at the beast screaming like a banshee, _“YOU KILLED MY SON, YOU BASTARD!,”_ holding the poker in front of her like a lance.  The beast had been crouched over Hobbs’ body, but stood now.  Beverly rammed the poker into the beast’s chest, but the beast didn’t so much as grunt as he backhanded her and sent her flying down the hallway. 

Will was taking aim with the gun when this time Frederick pushed past him yelling “BEV!”  With the beast standing, Will had gotten a quick glimpse of blood and tissue hanging from impossibly long teeth and hair all over its body.  Frederick was charging the beast as well and Will yelled, “FREDERICK, NO!” just as Frederick jerked to a sudden stop in front of the beast, and then Will saw Frederick fall to the floor with blood blossoming around several bloody punctures in his chest that seemed to be made by claws.  His eyes were open and starring. 

Will didn’t have time to mourn Frederick or to think about how this situation had gone so wrong.  He aimed the gun and pulled the trigger, and the beast jerked like it had been hit, but then took off running down the hall and then down the stairs. 

Will’s FBI training kicked in and he was not going to let Frederick’s killer get away. 

“Abigail!” he shouted.  Get Beverly and take her outside and then call the sheriff and get him out here.  I’m going after whatever this thing is.” 

“Be careful, Uncle Will,” he heard her say as he ran down the hall, following the beast down the stairs. 

Abigail paused at her father’s body and knelt down.  The moonlight coming through the window lit his body and she saw the tears and slices in his back and throat and the look of terror frozen on his face.  “Serves you right,” she said.  “That was for me and mom and Marissa.  You’ll never hurt anyone else ever again.”  Then she went and helped Bev, who was still reeling from the blow, and took her outside where she was just getting ready to dial 9-1-1 when she saw the sheriff’s car pull up. 

Sheriff Dolarhyde approached the two women and said, “Someone reported hearing a gunshot coming out of this house.” 

Abigail wasn’t quite sure how to explain the situation so she just said, “The beast killed two more people inside and my Uncle Will is chasing it now.” 

Beverly started sobbing at Abigail's words.  Apparently it had just sunk in that her husband was dead. 

“All right, I’ll look into it, but you two can’t stand out here unprotected,” the sheriff said reasonably, “so I’m going to take you over to my aunt’s house and she’ll look after you while I find your uncle and see what’s going on.”   

They got into the sheriff’s car and he drove them the short distance to Bedelia’s house.  When he knocked on the door Abigail was surprised that Bedelia answered right away, like she was used to people knocking on her door late at night.  It had to be after 11:00 by now. 

“Bedelia,” the sheriff said, “can you watch over these two while I take care of a little police business?” 

“Sure, Francis.  Be careful, you hear?” 

Abigail and Bev both missed the knowing look that passed between the sheriff and Bedelia. 

While Bedelia ushered them into the kitchen Abigail said, “The sheriff is your nephew?  It seems like everybody in this town is related to each other.” 

Bedelia chuckled, ushering them to have a seat at the kitchen table.  “That’s actually pretty accurate.  I have one living son and one granddaughter, many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews …  Well, you get the idea.  When you get to be as old as I am your family has grown quite a bit.” 

“It must be nice to be surrounded by family.  It seems like you guys really look after each other,” Abigail said, thinking about her own no-account father. 

“Oh, that we do,” Bedelia said in a strange voice that had even Bev looking up at her. 

Just then several people came in from the adjoining room and surrounded the table.  Bedelia was standing next to the stove just watching them. 

“What’s going on?” Abigail said looking around.  She counted eight people now surrounding her and Bev.  She looked at Bev and saw a frightened look on her tear streaked face. 

“What’s going on,” Bedelia said, “is that we just had a family meeting and we’ve decided that we’d like the two of you to join our family.  Admittedly, Beverly, you were a bit of a last minute decision; nonetheless, we think you both will make welcome additions.  Your Uncle Will too if he hasn’t gone and done anything stupid,” Bedelia said looking at Abigail.    

“Well, that’s a very nice offer,” Abigail said, her voice shaking slightly, “but why do I get the feeling we’re not going to be given a choice in the matter?” 

Bedelia smiled.  “We just want to give you a little time to really think about it before you make up your minds.” 

“Well, what’s the sheriff going to say when he comes back looking for us,” Abigail tried. 

“Dear child, why do you think my nephew brought you over here to me?”  Turning away from Abigail's stunned expression she motioned to the eight and said, “Take them down to the basement and lock them in the room.”  Abigail and Bev both struggled as hands grabbed them and pulled them through the house and down a set of stairs that Abigail assumed was leading to the basement and whatever room Bedelia mentioned.  They were taken to a room and shoved inside.  A solid, heavy steel door slammed and locked behind them.  There was a light on but no windows in the room.  There was a small round table and chairs and a single cot in the corner.  There was a door that led to a small bathroom with a shower and sink.  Nothing else was in the room.  Abigail hoped her Uncle Will would be able to find them. 

*     *     *

When Will reached the bottom of the staircase he shined the flashlight around trying to find where the beast had gone to.  He spotted a few drops of blood on the floor and knew that he had managed to wound the beast.  He followed the sporadic blood trail and it led to a door.  When he opened the door there was a set of stairs that led down into a basement or cellar.  He saw a couple drops of blood on the stairs.  He looked around but there was no light switch.  Not wanting to lose the beast, he descended the stairs into the dark basement.  He hoped Abigail had reached Sheriff Dolarhyde and that the sheriff was on his way and he would have help soon. 

Will reached the bottom step and listened for any sounds of movement or breathing.  After not hearing any, he quietly walked around looking for any signs of the creature.  Shining the light around Will saw that what he was actually in was a dirt cellar, the kind people used back in the old days to store vegetables and jars of food they canned during the summer because the air was cooler below ground level.  In fact, Will saw some shelves against one wall with a few dusty jars on it.  It didn't appear to be a large room and there weren’t that many places the beast could be hiding.  He checked the ground for blood once again and saw a couple drops in front of some large bushel baskets stacked about five feet high.  When he looked behind the baskets he saw a hole in the wall about four foot high that seemed to lead into a tunnel.  Where this tunnel led to Will had no idea, but it appeared that this was how the beast was coming and going and why it hadn’t been caught. 

Will had come this far so he might as well see it through.  The thought of going into a dark four foot tall tunnel where he would be crouched over wasn’t an ideal situation if he came upon the beast, but he had a flashlight and a gun, and he hoped that would give him the advantage. 

The tunnel was long—much longer than Will thought it would be.  He had thought it would just lead somewhere out onto the grounds of Beast House, possibly behind it where there was a wooded area, but it seemed to be going in a straight line toward the house next door, if Will had his bearings right.  If it did lead to Bedelia’s residence, that actually made a lot of sense.  Bedelia made a lot of money off the reputation of Beast House.  It was in her best interests to have an occasional killing over there to keep the tourists coming.  Will was convinced more than ever that the beast was in actuality a person in a suit pretending to be a beast and probably being manipulated by Bedelia. 

After walking for what felt like a good ten minutes, Will finally came to the end of the tunnel, and it opened into a hallway where he could finally stand up.  At the end of the hallway was a huge basement at least 50 feet long.  It was empty and quiet except for some muffled banging on a door that was about 25 feet away from him on the right-hand side.  He headed toward the door and had just reached it when he heard a noise behind him and turned quickly with his gun raised, ready to fire.  Will found himself staring down the barrel of a .357 Magnum.  He quickly raised his own gun toward the ceiling when he realized the hand holding the .357 Magnum belonged to Sheriff Dolarhyde and that he had come close to shooting the sheriff.   

“I’m sorry, sheriff,” he said, adrenaline pumping through his body.  “I followed the beast from Beast House through a tunnel to this room; then I heard noises coming from this door here.”

“Help!” he heard muffled through the heavy door along with the muffled banging this time.

“Abigail?  That sounds like my niece.  My niece is locked in this room, sheriff!” Will said while trying the door and realizing it was locked and he needed a key in order to unlock it.  “What the hell is going on around here?”  Will noticed then that the sheriff had yet to lower his own weapon. 

“Mr. Graham, I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you, but right now I’d like you to hand over your weapon.  Bedelia called and reported hearing a shot fired over at Beast House, and now I find you down in her basement with a gun.  I’m sure there’s a very good explanation why you were in a private tourist attraction that was locked up for the night discharging a weapon, and I'd love to hear it, but right now I need you to give me your gun.” 

Shit, how was he going to explain why he was in Beast House?  “I’m sorry, sheriff, but if I could just show you my identification …” Will said while reaching down toward his back pocket where his wallet was. 

“ _NOW_ , MR. GRAHAM!,” the sheriff said, cocking the hammer of his gun for emphasis. 

_Shit!_   “All right, sheriff, all right,” Will said tensely.  Will slowly turned his gun butt-first toward the sheriff and handed it over.  Once the Sheriff had the gun he would show him his FBI identification, but for now he didn’t like staring down the barrel of a gun that would blow most of his head off if it was discharged.  He didn’t even know law enforcement carried .357 Magnums any longer.  “Now,” Will said once he had handed over his gun, “maybe you could ask Bedelia why my niece is locked up in her basement.  The last time I saw Abigail she was over at Beast House and I had asked her to call you.  Did she get ahold of you?” Will asked, suddenly wondering how the Sheriff had wound up in Bedelia’s basement.

“No, I’m afraid I didn’t get a call from her.  I just got a call from Bedelia saying she had heard a gunshot coming from Beast House.”

“So why are you down here?” Will asked, feeling more uneasy. 

“As it seems you now know, there’s a tunnel down here that leads to Beast House.  I was going to take the tunnel and try to sneak up on the shooter rather than driving up in front of the house and possibly finding myself a target.” 

“Well, have you seen anything?” Will asked.  “I think I wounded him.  I’ve been following a slight blood trail that led me to this basement.  If you can locate the blood trail you may be able to find him.  I need to try and free my niece and figure out how she got locked up down here,” he said looking around for a key, hoping it was hanging on a hook on the wall somewhere.   

“Is this what you’re looking for,” he heard coming several feet behind him.  When he turned around, there was Bedelia with a key-ring dangling off her finger. 

“ _You_ locked my niece up?” he said, looking at Bedelia, and then over at the sheriff for his reaction, which strangely there wasn’t one.  “Why?”

“I wanted to give your niece and Beverly some time to calm down before I talk to the three of you.” 

“Talk to the three of us?  About what?” Will said stunned, looking between her and the sheriff. 

“Talk to you about staying with us,” said a third voice coming from the other side, and Will saw Hannibal standing there.  Will backed up so that his back was against the door.  He didn’t want anyone getting behind him.  He wasn’t sure what was going on, but if these people were hiding a killer, then it didn’t bode well for him or Abigail or Bev. 

“Will,” said Hannibal slowly moving closer with his hands out, “nobody wants to hurt you.  We all like you.  That’s why we want you to stay.” 

And then there it was, that scent of Hannibal’s that he had smelled at Hannibal’s apartment that had made him putty in Hannibal’s hands.  He felt it again, the sense of calm, that nothing was wrong.  He tried to move away but the sheriff was blocking him.  His legs started to feel like jelly.  Hannibal moved closer and wrapped his arm around Will’s waist to keep him upright and Will heard him say, “That’s better.” 

“Okay, put him in the room with the girls and I’ll talk to them tomorrow after they’ve had a chance to calm down.” Bedelia said.  She handed the key over to the sheriff and he unlocked the door, and Hannibal walked Will into the room and sat him down on the cot.  Sheriff Dolarhyde blocked the doorway so the girls couldn’t make a break for it. 

“What did you do to him!” Abigail yelled, seeing Will looking dazed. 

“He’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Hannibal said outside the door.  Then Sheriff Dolarhyde shut and locked the door. 

Will came back to himself as soon as Hannibal was gone.  He still had no idea what it was, but as far-fetched as it sounded, he knew now that Hannibal was somehow manipulating his emotions with his scent. 

“They’re all in on this,” Abigail said to Will.  “The sheriff, Bedelia, the cook … probably most of the town.  It seems like they’re all related to each other in one way or another. 

“Yeah, we got rid of Hobbs only to wind up with a much bigger problem,” Will said.  “Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” he said shaking his head. 

“These people killed my son and my husband,” Beverly sobbed.  “I have no one left!  They were my life!” 

Abigail went over and sat next to her and rubbed her back, speaking softly to her.  Will wasn’t sure what was going on in this town, but they would just have to sit tight until Bedelia or the sheriff or someone made the next move.  He certainly hoped that move didn’t involve making the three of them the next chapter of the legend of Beast House. 


	11. Chapter 11

**_ Tuesday  _ **

It was over 18 hours later when they heard the sound of the door being unlocked.  Will, Bev and Abigail had gotten a few restless hours of sleep sitting up side-by-side on the cot sharing the single blanket. 

Bedelia came in with Cordell and one other women Will thought worked at the local grocery store, and they put three plates of food and three bottles of water on the table.  Will could tell by the smell that it was Hannibal’s cooking.  Bedelia looked the three of them over and said, “I want you three to eat because you have a long day ahead of you.  The whole family is eager to meet you and welcome you at the initiation this evening.” 

“Initiation?” Abigail said.  “What kind of initiation?” 

“You’ll find out soon enough.  But I think you’ll enjoy it,” she said with a grin that Will didn’t find reassuring. 

The three just exchanged looks. 

“After you eat I’d like you to shower and make yourselves presentable.  If any of you decide not to shower, Cordell here would be happy to assist you,” she said.  Will glanced at Cordell who was looking like he was hoping his services would be needed.  Will felt Beverly, who was sitting next to him, cringe. 

Then Matthew Brown stepped into the room followed by Sheriff Dolarhyde, and Will saw they were carrying his duffel bag, Abigail's backpack and garbage bag, and some luggage that must belong to Beverly. 

“I’ve taken the liberty of having your clothes and things packed and brought here,” Bedelia said.  “We need the motel space.  As you know, this is our busy season; although, Will and Abigail, you two made a bit of a mess in your room.  Looks like quite the struggle went on in there with your father, Abigail.” 

 _So she knows_ , Will thought. 

“Anyway, the three of you eat and shower and put on some fresh clothes and we’ll come back for you in a couple of hours.  We have to wait for the shops to close down for the night so everyone can join us at the initiation.” 

Then they left and the door was once again locked behind them. 

“What do you think this initiation is?,” Beverly asked nervously. 

“I can’t even begin to guess,” Will said.  “It doesn’t sound like they want to kill us, though.  I guess we know now why she doesn’t have any windows in his house.” 

Two hours later Will, Bev and Abigail sat on the cot nervously awaiting Bedelia’s return.  They had all showered and put on clean clothes, none of them wanting to risk the threat of Cordell’s involvement.  They had eaten a few bites of their food and drank most of their water.  Nerves were frayed as they awaited the mysterious initiation.  Will wondered if maybe they were going to be drugged or hypnotized so that they would want to stay.  He couldn’t help remembering how he was affected every time Hannibal Lecter came near him. 

Finally they heard the door unlocking and Will heard Abigail say, “Well, this is it.”  They were ushered out of the room and Will saw that the large basement was encircled with people now.  Lots of people.  He saw Hannibal and Alana, Abel Gideon from the bar, Randall Tier from the gas station, the sheriff and Matthew Brown, Georgia Madchen from the Dairy Queen, and on and on.  Will frowned as he saw mismatched blankets and pillows now spread all over the floor in a helter-skelter fashion.  Will had no clue what to make of that. 

The three were led to the center of the room where they were manacled about six feet apart to chains suspended from the ceiling, their arms suspended above their heads, which only increased their anxiety.  Bedelia was already seated in a chair right in front of them.  Apparently she would be presiding over this initiation.    

“Before we begin with the initiation I’d like to tell the three of you the real story of Beast House.  The story I tell on the tour is true up to a certain point, but now I’d like to fill you in on the rest of the story.  It’s important for you to understand.” 

Will exchanged looks with his fellow captives.  He hadn’t expected this, but, okay.   

“As you heard on the tour, I moved into the house now known as Beast House with my husband and two children back in 1966.  My husband had been thrilled at how cheap he had gotten the house.  It was a steal really.  As I said, back then they didn’t have the disclosure laws that they do now so we had no idea that several people had died in the house prior to us moving in.  As I said in the tour, my husband died at sea five months after we moved here and I was left a widow with two young children.  I hired a local woman as a companion for myself and as a nanny to the children.  My husband left me a small amount of money that would last about a year if I was conservative, but after that my future would be uncertain. 

“About a month after my husband died I was down in the cellar getting a jar of peaches I kept stored down there and noticed two of the jars were open and empty lying on the ground.  I was upset at first wondering if the nanny had done this, but it made no sense for her to leave the evidence so plain to see.  After looking around I found a hole dug through one wall.  Cellars were just hollowed out areas made out of dirt back in the days when Beast House was built.  I decided then some down-on-his-luck vagrant had probably dug a hole into the cellar looking for food, or possibly even a hungry child, so I ignored it.  But a couple days later when this happened again I decided I needed to discover who was breaking in.  If it was a child then perhaps I could help them as I’ve always had a fondness for children. 

“The next night I went down into the cellar and sat on the bottom step in the dark waiting and watching.  My plan was to surprise the intruder and go from there depending on whether it was a child or an adult.  I had a flashlight and a baseball bat with me.  I was down there for about an hour before I heard a noise coming from the direction of the hole.  I stood up with the baseball bat and flashlight ready and waited.  When the person got through the hole and rose to his full height I realized due to his size it was a man, and a large one at that, and I realized how foolish I was coming down into a dark cellar with just a baseball bat for protection.  I decided to just remain silent in the dark and hope he didn’t notice me, but I must have made a sound for he suddenly came toward me.  I was frozen with fear and couldn’t convince my feet to move.  He was suddenly in front of me and I dropped the baseball bat and flashlight so he wouldn’t think I was a threat, and it was my hope he would let me go unharmed.  However, it was then that things got strange.  I suddenly realized that he smelled wonderful, like a meadow when it’s in full bloom with flowers and herbs growing wild, and I started to relax.  It was like my fear seemed suddenly unreasonable.” 

Will started at this and looked over at Hannibal then and saw Hannibal looking back at him.  That was exactly what had happened at Hannibal’s place; he had smelled something that had smelled wonderful to him and had become totally relaxed.  Bedelia’s story was suddenly more interesting to Will and he listened hard. 

“Suddenly the man buried his face in my neck and started sniffing me; then he started to nuzzle my entire body like a dog would, even my private areas, which he poked and prodded with his nose.  I still hadn’t moved, such was my fear, and then I felt claws easily ripping off my clothes.  When I was standing naked before him he started nuzzling me again, this time licking me with a tongue that felt kind of raspy, like a cat’s.  I can’t begin to tell you how erotic that feels on a woman’s breasts.” 

Will exchanged incredulous looks with Bev and Abigail.  The story had suddenly taken a turn toward the bizarre.  A man who sniffed her like a dog and had a raspy tongue?  He just shook his head and listened as she continued on. 

“He moved behind me.  His claws pierced my back, forcing me to my knees.  I felt the furry press of his chest move over my back and I knew with certainty what he was about to do.  The thought of it should have appalled me, and yet I was somehow thrilled by the touch of him, and strangely eager.   

“He mounted me from behind, a manner as unusual for humans as it is customary among many lower animals.  At the first touch of his organ I shuddered as the differences assaulted my senses, setting my nerve endings on fire with anticipation.” 

“Wait,” Beverly asked frowning and looking interested despite herself.  “What differences?  What are you talking about?” 

“All will be revealed in due course, Beverly.  Patience now while I finish my story, because only the full story will explain why you’re here.  Now, where was I?” 

“At the first touch of his organ I shuddered as the differences assaulted my senses,” Abigail said helpfully, looking at Bedelia with intense anticipation, Will noticed. 

“Ah yes.  Thank you, dear.  Oh Lord, how he plundered me!  How his claws tore my flesh!  How his teeth bore into me!  How his prodigious organ battered my tender womb.  He brought me to orgasmic heights I had never experienced with my own sweet husband who had been so tender and gentle in his lovemaking. 

“I knew, as we lay spent on the earthen cellar floor, that this was not a man but something other, and that no man could ever stir my passion in such a way as this creature had done.  He had ruined me for any normal relationships I may have considered having in the future.  I wept then.  The creature, disturbed by the noises I was making, went out the hole and disappeared.  

“The next night, after the children were tucked into bed, I went down into the cellar again, and he was waiting for me.  I disrobed immediately, not wanting any more of my clothes ruined.  I eagerly went down on my hands and knees and he took me with no less fervor than on the previous night.  When the delirium was past I lit a candle I had brought with me.  I wanted to see what he looked like.  He was tall and muscular; but I already knew that.  The hair on his head was long and tangled and he had facial hair.  However, his entire body all the way to his feet was fully covered with a light fur, not unlike the soft fur of a Golden Retriever.  There was dirt and twigs and bits of leaf in his fur, and my guess was he was living in the woods somewhere behind the house.  I examined his claws, which had scratched me on several occasions now, and the nails were thick and curved and pointed like talons.  His fangs were slightly longer than a human’s.  Then I examined that wonderful organ of his that made me sweat and tingle just looking at it, and noted the differences there as well.” 

“What differences?” Abigail said impatiently. 

Bedelia chuckled.  “All in good time; all in good time.  Anyway, I tried to speak to him but he never made a sound.  I asked him where he came from, if he had other people, what his name was.  He never made an attempt to speak.  The only sounds I heard him make were during our lovemaking, and then he made quite a few,” Bedelia said with a chuckle. 

Laughter rippled around the room setting Will’s teeth on edge as this story just got stranger and stranger, and he was suddenly worried that they were stuck in the middle of a town full of lunatics.

“I eventually named him Adam, as he seemed to be the first of his kind, and I was living a happy life.  I brought him food and we made love in the cellar on a regular basis at night after everyone was asleep, and no one was the wiser.  Then one day I went into the cellar and there was a surprise waiting for me.  Adam was accompanied by two others of his kind, both males.  I was bit embarrassed as I had arrived in the cellar in my usual state of undress and wasn’t sure what to do, until Adam grabbed me and forced me to my knees.  I was embarrassed and fought him a bit until I was once again surrounded by that wonderful meadow smell.  I later realized that these creatures had the ability to release pheromones with the capacity to calm and excite.  I believe you experienced a taste of that yourself, Will,” Bedelia said, watching him turn bright red.  Will saw Bev and Abigail look over at him questioningly, and he just gave a quick embarrassed nod in the affirmative.   

“Anyway, I was plundered by all three that night and could barely walk the next day; plus I had scratches and bruises all over my body as the three vied for my attention.  I realized then if all three were to continue to visit me I would have to come up with some sort of plan before they unintentionally ripped me to pieces.  I named the other two Cain and Abel as they appeared to be brothers. 

“Then four days later tragedy struck.  I was out shopping one day, leaving the nanny and my two sweet boys at home, and when I arrived back home an hour later a sheriffs car was in front of the house.  Apparently someone had reported hearing screaming.  I ran inside and learned that the nanny and my two children had been killed, literally ripped apart.  I knew instantly what had happened.  One of the creatures had entered the house either looking for me, or perhaps smelling the nanny and wanting another female, but of course the nanny had started screaming upon seeing him and had run to the children’s room to barricade herself inside with them, but before she could do so, whichever one it was had crashed through the door and killed them all in his distress to silence the noise. 

“I was devastated but I never told the police about my three beasts.  They later caught a vagrant that was hanging around the area and put the blame on him so that the town would feel safe.  They never had any hard evidence against him, but he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder nonetheless. 

“After the death of my children I fell into a deep depression.  At times I just wanted to burn the house down, but I had nowhere else to go at that point.  At night I locked myself in my room and pushed the dresser in front of the door.  I didn’t hear any sound of them for three weeks.  I think they instinctively knew they had done something wrong and I would be mad.  After three weeks though I started to hear them outside the door trying to get in.  I wouldn’t speak to them. 

“After another month went by, though, the loneliness started to get to me.  I was living in that big house all by myself with no family, no friends, and I had never lived alone in my entire life.  I was barely eating, didn’t care about my physical appearance.  One evening I just sat on the couch in the living room and didn’t move, even as the hour grew late. 

“Several hours later, that’s where they found me, sitting there practically catatonic in my loneliness and grief.  Oh, their joy at seeing me again was overwhelming.  They fell upon me and I didn’t even try to resist.  I had given up.  But soon as I was encased in their sweet smelling pheromones and as they touched and stroked and entered every orifice of my body, I couldn’t help but feel wonderfully alive again.  I understood then that they were beasts and didn’t realize what they had done, so at that point it was a choice between forgiving them or dying alone and depressed.  However, I knew something had to change because trying to satisfy the needs of all three was too much.  They were getting competitive and I was paying the price.  The bruises and deep scratches and other marks were becoming harder to hide.  Finally I came to the conclusion that I needed to find two other female companions to live with me, women who were made of sterner stuff and wouldn’t shy away from someone who was so different. 

“One day I drove over to Harrisonville, which is a fairly large city, and drove around until I saw a young woman on the street looking for handouts.  She was bedraggled and appeared to have fallen on hard times.  I pulled over and spoke to her.  After determining that she was not an alcoholic but had fled her home due to an abusive stepfather, I pretended to offer her a job as a housekeeper.  She would have a roof over her head, regular food, and a small salary.  She eagerly jumped at the chance.  When I got her home I unfortunately hadn’t thought the introduction out as well as I should have.  When Cain appeared in front of her she started screaming, and no amount of my trying to tell her he wouldn’t hurt her would make her stop.  Cain, finally becoming agitated by the noise, ripped her to pieces.  I had erred greatly.  I buried the young woman in the woods in the back and rethought my strategy. 

“When next I went to Harrisonville I went to a section of town late at night where I heard prostitutes frequented.  I was looking for someone who looked worldly, like they had survived everything that life had thrown at them and had come out the other end even stronger.  I found such a woman.  She was only 20 but she looked 35, such was her life.  I told her I had a brother who had a deformity and women were appalled by his appearance.  I told her he was turning 21 the following day and that he had never been with a woman and that I wished to give him the gift of being intimate with someone who wouldn’t cringe at his touch as his birthday present.  I told her where I lived and that I would pay her three times her regular price if she would accompany me and spend the night with my brother.  Since she was not one of the more popular, young looking, fresh faced girls who drew lots of customers, she agreed. 

“This time when I got her home with me I took her in the kitchen and gave her something to eat while I found one of the boys.  I found Abel and put him in one of the bedrooms and told him to stay put.  It was dark outside, so when I closed the heavy drapes and turned out the lights he couldn’t be seen.  Then I went back to the woman, whose name was Lillian, and brought her to the door and had her strip.  I told her not to be afraid.  I told her that the lights needed to stay off because my brother was self-conscious of his deformity but that he was excited and would most likely come to her and want to touch and smell her.  I also told her he was mute and wouldn’t be able to speak to her.  Then I opened the door and told her to go in and just stand there and wait for him to make the first move.  I closed the door and waited with baited breath, hoping there would be no screams.  In a short while there were screams, but not screams of terror.  Lillian later told me that she hadn’t climaxed in years, that she didn’t think she was capable of it any longer, but Abel brought her to heights of ecstasy that she had never experienced.  I talked her into staying a few extra days, and she agreed.  I saw her excitement build as the second evening approached and I knew I had her.  I put Cain in the room this time, and again there were only screams and moans of pleasure. 

“After a couple of days I told her the truth about them.  She had already suspected something of the sort, of course.  Even in the dark she couldn’t help but notice the hair and claws.  But I could tell that she was as addicted to sex with them as I was.  I told her I would like her to live with me and that I’d like to have one other woman join us, and she recommended a friend of hers, who was also a prostitute.  I drove out to the area Lillian specified and found her friend, Denise, and I gave her the same story and told her that Lillian had recommended her.  When I brought her home I went through the same routine with her, and then ultimately I had my two sister wives, as I liked to call us.  The three of us got along extremely well together and were very protective of our three beasts. 

“But soon it was apparent that the money was starting to run out and if I didn’t do something soon I would lose the house and we would all be homeless.  I could not let that happen.  That’s when I decided to use the reputation of the house and the murders that had happened there to start a tourist attraction.  I obtained pictures from the police and the morgue and had wax images made of the victims with some of my remaining savings.  When they arrived I arranged them in the rooms in which they perished.  I must admit it was difficult seeing the wax figures of my own dear children.  I wrote the script with Lillian and Denise’s help and practiced it until I had it just right.  Then I posted an ad in the local paper and put flyers up around town offering a single tour on Fridays and Saturdays.  I was astonished how many people showed up, all curious to go through the house and see the sites of such brutal deaths. 

“Lillian, Denise and I were still living in the house at that point, but as the tours became more and more popular and the money started rolling in and I added more tours, I knew that we needed a separate place to live, a more private place where our beasts could roam around free in the house with no prying eyes.  Plus, Lillian and Denise both wound up pregnant at the same time.  That’s when I had this house built, and I’m sure you noticed that there are no windows.  Beast House, as it was now know, became strictly a tourist attraction.   

“We were all thrilled about the pregnancies, but also afraid.  If the children looked like their fathers they would be unable to leave the house.  Also, we wondered if they would be incapable of speech like their fathers.  So many worries.  We couldn’t even hire a midwife, not knowing what the babies might look like.  However, both babies were born healthy with lusty cries.  They were both boys, and the traits they received from their fathers were apparent, but not something that couldn’t be hidden.  The first thing we all noticed was they had inherited their fathers’ genitalia in all its magnificence.  Their bodies were lightly furred, but not so great as their father’s.  One of the babies had fairly normal hands, but the other one had fingers that were more claw-like.  He would have to wear gloves in public.  

“I became pregnant next and had a little girl who I named Mischa.  She was a beautiful child with only slight differences.  Her daughter, Alana, looks very much like her.” 

Will looked over at Alana with surprise.  He had become so engrossed in the story he had forgotten that this was supposed to be real and not fiction.  He frowned as he examined Alana, looking for any indication she was descended from a beast.  As he looked at her he recalled he only ever saw her in long-sleeved shirts and slacks, and she always wore cotton gloves, like she was doing now.  In fact, he had found it curious that many of the townspeople wore long sleeves since it was summer-time.  He had thought that maybe the townspeople were decedents of an Amish or Mormon community and that’s why they dressed so conservatively.  The facts that Bedelia were bringing up was making more and more sense to Will, and that was just messing with his head.  Bedelia’s story just couldn’t be true.  It couldn’t.  Could it? 

Bedelia continued.  “Mischa died from a fever when she was 27.  It devastated all of us.  You see, we couldn’t take her to a doctor.  We had no idea what a blood test would show.  Plus, there were physical differences that a doctor couldn’t help but see if he examined her closely enough.  So we treated her as best we knew how, but she succumbed to the fever and died.  That’s when we realized we needed a doctor of our own kind.  Mischa’s younger brother Hannibal went to medical school shortly after that.” 

“Wait, what?” Will said.  “Hannibal is your son?  But he’s not a doctor, he’s a cook.” 

“He is my son.  He’s a first generation descendant of Adam,” she said proudly.  And he _is_ a cook, as cooking is his passion, but he is a doctor as well.  There isn’t a huge need for a doctor in this town, so Hannibal only doctors as the need arises.”   

Will looked over at Hannibal again, and he had to admit he was impressed.    

“I never learned where my three beasts came from.  I considered aliens from outer space and offspring of Big Foot, missing links, but the truth is none of them could speak or write, and when I asked them where they came from and who their parents were they just seemed confused and unable to communicate an answer for me.  None of their offspring was born without the ability of speech, so it didn’t seem to be a genetic deficiency. 

“Our family continued to grow and grow.  Although I suffered a few miscarriages after Hannibal’s birth, Lillian and Denise gave birth to several other healthy babies.  Thanks to Beast House, we had enough money to live happy lives. 

“Forty-two years after I met him, my sweet Adam died.  Three years after that Cain died, and then six months later Abel died.  Abel never got over the death of Cain.  Lillian died when she was 52 due to breast cancer, and Denise lived to 65 and just died in her sleep. 

“Everyone you see in this room right now before you is related to either me, Lillian or Denise and one of the three beasts.  There are multiple generations standing before you.    

“But I still don’t understand what that has to do with us,” Will said. 

“Of course,” Bedelia said.  “Let me explain that now.” 

At this point she stood up and walked over to a wall that had writing on it that Will hadn’t noticed before.  As Bedelia pulled a string on an overhead lightbulb, Will could see what looked like a giant family tree written on the wall. 

“Once our first children—Lillian, Denise and mine—got around 14 years old, their sexual instincts kicked in with a vengeance.  There was no way to stop them from experimenting with each other.  We couldn’t watch them 24 hours a day.  We would often catch them ‘in the act’ and they weren’t embarrassed about it in the slightest.  They were certainly their fathers’ children.  So as our numerous children reached sexual maturity, our family grew rapidly.   

“After a couple of generations, however, I became concerned, as there were instances of slight retardation and deformity, and I guessed that the bloodlines were becoming too close.” 

Will looked over at Peter then, and Bedelia, looking at Will, gave a small nod. 

“I started charting this family tree and realized that this was indeed the case.  That was when I realized that in order for the beasts’ lineage to continue in a healthy manner, new bloodlines would occasionally have to be infused.  Are you following me?” she said looking at the three of them. 

Oh, yes, he was now getting the message loud and clear.  These crazy people were planning to use Bev and Abagail as some sort of brood mares and him as some sort of stud.  This was nuts.  The whole town was delusional. 

Will tried to find a crack in Bedelia’s story.  “But everyone here has different last names.  If everyone was related wouldn’t they all have the last names of you and Lillian and Denise?” Will reasoned. 

“Very good, Mr. Graham.  And that’s one of the things I realized early on, that in order to not draw attention to this town and its people that we needed to come up with different last names.  We do everything in our power to blend in and not draw attention to ourselves in any way.  For instance, take Abel Gideon’s name.” 

Will looked over at the bartender, who waved at him. 

“He was named Abel after his father, as he is one of Abel’s sons, and I chose the name Gideon from the Bible.  Gideon was one of the Greater Judges of Israel.  I find last names in books, on television, and even on the internet,” she said smiling, “and I choose a new last name whenever a new generation is born.  Of course your children can have your last names as there are no others in this town named Graham, Chilton or Hobbs.” 

“You said the beasts had unusual genitalia.  Now how different could it possibly be if they were able to mate with you and produce offspring?” Will tried again. 

“Ah, now it gets down to it,” she said smiling.  “First I’ll show you a few other differences to get you used to the idea before we progress to that.  Peter and Alana,” she called out, “please come forward.” 

Peter and Alana came and stood next to Bedelia in front of Will, Bev and Abagail.  “Now remove your gloves,” she said.

Bev and Abigail gasped as Peter and Alana revealed their hands—claws really.  Peter’s was more noticeable, which is why he wore leather gloves.  Alana’s was less so, which is why she could get away with wearing thin cotton gloves. 

“Of course not everyone is born with claws.  Hannibal, for instance, has perfectly normal, human hands.  Another difference is the rough texture of their tongues and their unusual saliva,” Bedelia continued, as Peter stuck out his tongue, showing the cat-like texture.  “When kissing and coming in contact with their saliva you’ll feeling a tingling sensation and arousal.” 

Will felt suddenly uncomfortable as he recalled how the suck bruise Hannibal had given him had tingled well after he left Hannibal’s apartment, and how every time he touched it his cock would twitch. 

“All their bodily secretions seem to contain a chemical that excites nerve endings.  You’ll feel that during kissing and during sex.  I already mentioned the pheromones they can release that relaxes and excites.  Everything about their physiology seems genetically engineered to lure, entice, seduce— _mate_. 

Will felt his breathing picking up.  _This can’t be real, this can’t be real_ , he thought, feeling like he was in a dream.  There is no such thing as the beasts she was describing. 

“Wait,” Will said, suddenly focusing on a point that had just come to him.  “You said the beasts are all dead now, so who killed Bev’s son three weeks ago and who was it I shot tonight?”  There has to be a logical answer, he thought. 

“You’re correct that there aren’t any true beasts left.  This family—the whole town really—survives on the tourists and the money they bring in when visiting Beast House.  In order to keep people visiting Beast House, I had to keep the legend alive.  First of all, I had security cameras installed and a silent alarm put in.  Anyone who enters Beast House after it’s locked up triggers an alarm, and I can see them on TV monitors upstairs.  I saw all of you come into the house last night.  As for the beast, my great-nephew Randall Tier is a fine builder and mechanic, and he designed a beast costume with working jaws and claws.  Anyone trespassing meets Randall or one of the other boys in costume.” 

“You didn’t have to kill my son!” Bev sobbed.  I know he was trespassing but you could have just called the sheriff!  He didn’t have to die!  He was a good boy!” she cried. 

“Your good boy had murder on his mind.” 

“No,” Beverly said shaking her head vehemently, “you’re lying.  He wouldn’t hurt a fly.” 

Bedelia sighed.  “I thought it might come to this,” she said picking up a remote control and turning on a TV that was on the wall opposite the family tree, “which is why I had this ready for you.  You need to know why your son wasn’t allowed to leave, that we aren’t the monsters you think we are.” 

Bedelia hit a button on her remote and all of a sudden Will saw two young men in the second floor hallway of Beast House.  By Bev’s gasp and moan he guessed one of them was her son.  

 

“I don’t know what the fuck it is, but something’s been killing people in this house for years.   
It could be a Freddy-fucking-Krueger wannabe shredding these people for all I know.   
But I don’t want to take any chances, so let’s just go— _now!_  Just forget the fucking manikin.”

“I say we go up and check it out.  If they got some kind of psycho living in the attic and we can   
prove it, then we’ll be heroes and blow this freak show scam clear outta the water.  We'll be    
on the news and they’ll have us on talk shows.  We’ll be rich.” 

“Or we’ll be dead.  I am not going up into the attic, and I don’t think you should either.   
Just leave the manikin and let’s go.  Please!”  

“You know, you need to grow a bigger set.  That’s why you never made the football team like me,  
because you’re afraid to take chances.  If you want to stay down here that’s fine, but I'm gonna  
go up and see what’s up there, and if it is the infamous beast of Beast House I’m gonna kill it  and   
become famous.  You just stay down here where it’s nice and safe, you little pansy-ass chicken shit.” 

 

And then they watched as the one boy went up the attic stairs. 

Bedelia clicked off the TV.  “Your son, Zane, went up the attic stairs with the intent of meeting and killing the beast.  Well, he met the beast, but it was a different outcome than what he had planned.  He also caused the death of the other boy, David, by not being smart and leaving when his friend urged him to,” Bedelia said. 

Beverly was sobbing heavily now. 

“There, there,” Bedelia said.  “We don’t hold any grudges here.  Will shot Nicholas Boyle in the shoulder tonight, but we forgive him.  Hannibal patched him up and he’ll be as good as new in a few days, although he’ll be unable to participate in tonight’s activities.  

“Now,” Bedelia said, getting up and going over to Bev and wiping her eyes and nose with a hanky she had up her sleeve, “let’s get on to more pleasurable things, shall we?  Let the initiation begin!” 


	12. Chapter 12

Will was seriously frightened and freaked out now.  If this initiation involved sex, as Bedelia had seemed to hint at, were they all going to be raped while half the town stood around and watched?  Was that the initiation?  Christ, he had gotten Abigail away from her sexually abusive father only to land her in the middle of whatever-the-fuck this was.  When he looked over at her, though, she looked the calmest of the three of them. 

“I have selected your initiants and your seconds,” Bedelia said. 

Will was confused.  “Our what?” 

“Your initiants are the ones you will breed with tonight that will hopefully result in a child, and your seconds are the people who will help relax and prepare you, to enhance your sexual experience.  We want this to be a game changer for each of you just like my first experience was with Adam.” 

“You said the genitalia was different,” Will said nervously.  “You never explained how.” 

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot about that.  I was showing you the differences and got distracted.  Matthew, please come here,” she called. 

Matthew Brown came up beside Bedelia with a big smile on his face.  Apparently he was looking forward to showing them the differences. 

“Remove your clothes, darling,” she said. 

Matthew quickly removed his shirt and Will immediately saw fur on his chest and arms that looked like it went all the way around to his back.  As he unbuckled his belt Will was feeling a bit queasy but he needed to see this to determine if these people were crazy or not.  If Matthew had some weird alien dick then he would have to accept that everything Bedelia had told them was true.  If not, the clawed hands and extra hair on their bodies could be a genetic abnormality, like the bearded lady at the circus or something like that.  If these people were as inbred as Bedelia mentioned, that might have locked in the abnormal genes, explaining why so many of them had the traits. 

Will heard Matthew’s zipper go down.  He would have prayed then, but what should he pray for, crazy people or alien dick? 

Matthew bent over and took his pants and underpants off in one smooth motion.  Before he straightened up Will observed the hair going down his back, and when he straightened Will saw the hair went unbroken down his legs to his feet.  Then Will took a deep breath and examined his cock. 

Only one cock and two testicles, Will noted.  Well, that was a relief.  It was of impressive size, no denying that, and he noticed the skin was not smooth but covered with what looked like tiny, soft-looking, wide-spread nipplelike projections about a quarter of an inch in height.  Okay, he had to admit that was bizarre, but that could still be some sort of skin deformity.  The testicles also looked slightly larger and sort of pitted, but that still didn’t scream beast.    

“Matthew, I can see that Mr. Graham is still not convinced,” Bedelia said.  “Show him.” 

Matthew put his hand around his cock and started slowly masturbating.  Will watched for a few seconds and then averted his eyes.  He looked up at Matthew and the man was clearly enjoying being the center of attention.  Will was looking around the room until he heard both Bev and Abagail make noises of disbelief.  When he looked over at them he saw their eyes transfixed on Matthew’s cock.  _Shit._   He braced himself for whatever he was about to see, but nothing prepared him for it.  It startled him so badly he felt his eyes fill with tears, and he actually tried to take a step back but was stopped by the chains.  How the hell could this be real?  But the proof was right there in front of him. 

Matthew was holding his cock still now and there was something moving, coming out the slit that looked somewhat like a large earthworm, pinkish brown in color.  The worm-like appendage was out about an inch and coated in a thick layer of secretion.  As Will watched, the thing came out another inch and seemed to raise its … head?   It bobbed from side to side like it was sniffing the air or looking for something.  Will shuddered thinking it was probably looking for something its cock could bury itself into. 

“That’s enough, Matthew, I think we have them convinced  now,” she said looking at their expressions.  “Do you need any further convincing, Mr. Graham,” she asked?

Will shook his head no.  He had never seen anything like that before in his life.  There was no explanation that he could think of other than Bedelia had been telling the truth. 

“How long _is_ that wormy thing?” Will heard Abigail ask. 

“Oh, it’s typically around two inches long, but I have seen it up to three,” she said looking over at Hannibal. 

“And all the guys have that?” Abigail asked.  

Bedelia smiled at her.  “Every single one.  Now,” she said, “I know everyone is impatient to begin, so let me tell you three who I’ve selected as your initiants and who are to be your seconds.  Will, your initiant will be Alana; Beverly, yours will be Francis Dolarhyde; and Abigail, your initiant will be Randall Tier.” 

Will started at that.  He was supposed to have sex with Alana?  Beautiful, curvy Alana?  As fucked-up as this whole situation was, he was embarrassed by the tiny thrill of excitement he felt at hearing that.  He looked over and met Alana’s eyes and she was smiling at him.  He blushed and dropped his eyes. 

Bedelia continued:  “Will, your second will be Hannibal; Beverly, your second will be Matthew here; and Abigail, your second will be Georgia Madchen.”  

Wait, what?  Hannibal was to be his second?  Hannibal was the person chosen for him who was supposed to help relax and prepare him, to help enhance his sexual experience?  Why would Bedelia pick him?  Will felt uncomfortable as he thought back to when he was in Hannibal’s apartment shoved up against the door.  His tiny frisson of excitement was gone now, replaced by unease.      

Bedelia said to the room at large, “Do I hear any challenges for the right of first breeding?” 

The room was silent.  Bedelia gave a nod, which seemed to be some sort of signal, and Will saw everyone in the room starting to strip. 

_Hold on, what’s happening?_

Matthew Brown headed straight for Bev as he was already naked.  Bev started to panic as a naked Matthew Brown approached her.  She tried backing away from him as far as her chains would allow, twisting her body so he couldn’t get behind her.  She started trying to kick him while shouting, “Stay away from me!  You people killed my son and my husband and now you expect me to bear you a child?  You’re all crazy, and if you try to touch me I’ll …”

Bev's voice cut off and Will watched as her body and face started to slowly relax, and he knew Matthew had hit her with his pheromones.  Shit!  They were all going to be raped and there wasn’t a thing any of them could do to stop this.  

Will panicked as he saw a naked Hannibal now heading for him with an intense look on his face.  Hannibal was hairy all over just as Matthew was, and a quick glance down showed an equally well-endowed cock covered in those soft-looking little nubs.  Georgia Madchen headed toward Abigail, and Will noticed she was also furred, but much less so than the men. 

As Hannibal went behind him, Will’s heart was hammering in his chest as he wondered what a six foot tall naked man was going to do to him to help enhance his sexual experience.  Will stiffened as he felt Hannibal’s hands caressing his sides, and then he caught a whiff of that wonderful, woodsy fragrance that Hannibal seemed to exude, only now he knew what it was.  He leaned forward as far as his restraints would let him, but he couldn’t escape the calm, relaxed, excited feeling that was starting to pass through his body.  Even though he knew what was happening to him, he couldn’t stop it, not unless he stopped breathing.  He felt Hannibal’s large hands pulling him back toward him saying, “Just relax, Will.  I’ll take care of you.” 

Will felt himself relaxing despite his best efforts not to.  He once again felt himself leaning back against Hannibal, dropping his head back on his shoulder, and he felt Hannibal’s arms go around him, pulling him tightly against his body, and Hannibal burying his face in his neck and inhaling deeply. 

“This is what you did to me in your apartment, isn’t it?  You were trying to fuck me then” Will said bluntly, a clear sign his inhibitions were dropping. 

Hannibal put his mouth near Will’s ear and said softly, “I never denied it.  I wanted to, Will, very much so.  I still do.” 

Will shivered and felt himself stirring at Hannibal’s words. 

“But now you’re just going to watch as I fuck Alana?” Will said, his feelings of arousal increasing the more he inhaled that scent and he was unconsciously grinding his ass against Hannibal.   

“Will,” Hannibal said in a bit of a strained voice, enjoying the feeling of Will’s ass grinding against him, “when you’ve been with us for a while you’ll learn not to think so … one-dimensionally.  The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” 

While Will was mulling that over in his pheromone-fogged brain, Alana walked over and took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes at his dilating pupils.  Will’s breathing increased further as he realized she was now naked as well, and his eyes traveled appreciatively down her body.  He then inhaled her fragrance and smiled.  She smelled like honeysuckle and gardenia, two of his favorite fragrances from his childhood back in Biloxi.  Oh, she smelled good.  And she was sooo beautiful.  He sighed.  Any last vestiges of confusion evaporated and he was just left with feelings of arousal.   

Alana smiled at him.  “It looks like he’s ready, Hannibal,” she said. 

Hannibal reached up and undid his shackles, and Will would have collapsed if Hannibal hadn’t grabbed hold of him.  Then Hannibal and Alana began undressing him and Will didn’t even think to stop them.  He also knew that Alana would see him in an aroused state, and that didn’t seem to bother him either.  He calmly looked over and saw Beverly and Abigail being similarly stripped and quickly averted his eyes, feeling a twinge of unease which quickly dissipated as he inhaled another dose of the pheromones that were being released by Hannibal and Alana. 

Once his clothes were discarded they walked him over to the large open area that was covered with blankets and pillows and Hannibal gently lowered him to his knees.  Will saw the other people in the basement on the blankets now in various forms of making out.  Alana knelt before him and he knew that Hannibal had knelt behind him. 

Alana wrapped her arms around Will and started kissing him with an expertise that could only have been born of practice.  She flirted and teased with her mouth and tongue, and Will felt the raspy texture of her tongue as it slid inside his mouth.  Mmm, she tasted so good:  sort of sweet, like cotton candy.  Will recognized on a subconscious level that this must be, once again, what Bedelia had described.  Will’s whole mouth started tingling and as he was becoming more aroused, he put his arms around her and drew her tightly against him, stroking her back and kneading her ass.  The kissing got hotter, deeper.  Alana was lightly scoring his back with those claws of hers, which Will was enjoying.  He also felt Hannibal behind him stroking his arms and sides and butt—anywhere he could touch.  Then Will felt Hannibal place his hands on his shoulders and start to push him forward onto his hands … but then a woman’s voice rang out in the basement: 

“I challenge for the right of first breeding.” 


	13. Chapter 13

“I challenge for the right of first breeding.” 

Will looked over and saw the voice belonged to Margot Verger.  She had apparently just arrived as she was still fully clothed. 

“Margot,” Bedelia said, “we’ve already started.  You missed the opportunity for challenging for right of first breeding.” 

“I was held up at the shop.  Some woman came in shortly before closing and wanted a pedicure.  Talk about claws,” she joked. 

Bedelia sighed.  Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing to await Bedelia’s verdict. 

“I’m assuming you’re challenging for the right to be bred by Will Graham first?” 

“I am,” she said, looking over at him with a hungry look that made Will cringe and hold on tighter to Alana. 

“You realize, Margot, that you can petition for breeding as soon as Alana is pregnant in a month or so.  It’s not like with one of the women where you would have to wait over a year for them to become pregnant, carry the child, and the recovery time afterwards.” 

“I don’t care, I want him first,” Margot said sounding petulant, like a spoiled child. 

Bedelia sighed again.  “Alana, a challenge has been issued for the right of first breeding.  Do you accept the challenge or do you wish to forego first rights?” 

Alana gently removed Will’s arms from around her and stood up.  Will saw that she looked pissed.  “Oh, it will be my pleasure to accept the challenge,” she replied with an edge to her voice.  Margot was just smirking back at her.  Will had the impression there was bad blood between these two women. 

Margot removed her clothes as everyone moved back, clearing the center of the basement for what was apparently going to be a fight.  Hannibal pulled Will up and moved him back behind the crowd close to the basement wall and then lowered him back to his knees.  Will was still slightly dizzy from the pheromones and couldn’t stand up without help. 

Everyone was watching as the women circled each other, looking for an opening, and then Margot threw herself at Alana.  Getting glimpses through people’s legs, Will could see the women were going at each other pretty viciously.  He saw a lot of scratches and blood.  People were cheering and rooting their favorite on. 

While everyone was focused on the fight Will was becoming slightly more clear-headed.  No one was throwing their pheromones his way and his mind was beginning to clear and his thoughts turning to escape.  While he had been chained in the middle of the room he had been looking around when Matthew Brown was disrobing and had spotted a doorway with stairs that was about 20 feet down from him on this side of the room that must lead up into the house.  Maybe if he could creep down there while everyone was distracted he could get to the first floor, close the door, hope there was a way to lock the door, and then find a phone and call Jack.  If he could just call Jack and tell him where they were, Jack would come and rescue them. 

He got up slowly, still bent over, trying not to be seen, and started creeping forward with his hand on the wall to steady him.  He had only gone several feet when he heard Bedelia’s voice say, “Hannibal, get him!  He’s trying to get away!” 

Will started running toward the stairs, which was awkward seeing as how he was 1) naked, and 2) semi-aroused, and 3) still a bit dizzy from the pheromones.  He reached the stairs and was half way up them when he felt a hand grab his ankle and jerk.  He fell painfully on his stomach but quickly twisted over on his back so he could kick out with his other foot.  This might be their only chance to escape, and he was ready to put up a fight.  He kicked out, but Hannibal Lecter grabbed hold of his other foot as well and pulled both his ankles so that he bump, bumped down two stairs on his ass, his back scraping painfully against the stairs. 

Hannibal was now hovering inches above Will, his feet on the bottom stair and his knees pressed against the edge of the stair on either side of Will’s knees, and his hands on either side of Will’s head.  Being with the FBI Will had found himself in some pretty fucked up situations before, but nothing as fucked up as being totally naked with an equally naked man hoovering inches away from him who had already confessed to wanting to fuck him.  Will felt himself shaking and was angry with himself for showing any signs of weakness.  Hannibal tried to stroke his cheek then, but Will just shook his hand off and said “Don’t,” turning his face away from Hannibal. 

When Will turned his face away, Hannibal’s eyes were drawn to the mark he had made at the top of Will’s shoulder.  It was a beautiful bruise in vivid reds and blues and yellows.  Hannibal knew the spot would still be sensitive and he lowered his head and ran his tongue over it.  He got the reaction he was hoping for. 

Will gasped and arched his back and felt his cock jerk and slap against Hannibal’s stomach.  He looked at Hannibal feeling momentarily stunned at how his body had just reacted to that.  Will saw Hannibal’s pupils dilate then and knew he was seconds away from being saturated in his pheromones and probably fucked on the stairs.  His best plan was still to get up the stairs and try to get to a phone to call Jack.  Maybe if he could surprise Hannibal he’d have a chance.  He tried not to telegraph his intention.  Suddenly he threw his hands on Hannibal’s shoulders and shoved with all his might hoping to push him off balance so he could get up the rest of the stairs and slam the door shut, but being below Hannibal and pushing upward, gravity was against him and he didn’t have enough force to push the big man off.  It was like trying to shove a brick wall.  Hannibal barely moved.  Then, as Will suspected, Hannibal was releasing pheromones.  He felt his body going limp and his fear leaving him.  His hands fell off Hannibal’s shoulders and his head fell back on the stair behind it. 

Will looked up at Hannibal with heavily lidded eyes, feeling his lust growing, and said, “Why can’t you just let us go?” 

“I don’t think I’m capable of letting you go, Will.”  And then Hannibal’s lips and body lowered, closing the distance between them. 

Will remembered vaguely in his quickly fogging brain that he had tried empathizing with Hannibal in his apartment, and that had seemed to partially clear his head.  He lowered his mind shield now and tried to empathize with him so he could hopefully maintain his focus of getting up to the door.  Getting to the door was their only hope.  And then Hannibal’s lips connected with his and every thought in his brain just dissolved into mist. 

Soft.  That was his first impression.  His lips were so soft.  Will was vaguely surprised at how soft Hannibal’s lips were.  For some reason he didn’t think a man’s lips would be soft, but Hannibal’s were.  Will parted his lips and invited Hannibal in.  He could actually feel Hannibal’s breath in his mouth and in his throat and in his lungs.  He started kissing him back and the kissing and tongue play got hotter and deeper.  Hannibal’s mouth tasted sweet too, sort of like caramel, and Will’s mouth started to tingle again and he got so hard from the kissing he actually felt like he was getting tongue fucked.  Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s and started stroking his back.  _Hmm, the hair’s so soft.  It is like petting a Golden Retriever.  He always wanted a dog._   He smiled then and wrapped his ankles under Hannibal’s ass and rocked his pelvis against him.  He heard Hannibal gasp in surprise.  Then Will heard Alana say, “I see you two have started without me.  Hannibal, don’t you dare let him lose any of that baby-making sperm until he’s inside me.”  

Will felt Hannibal shudder as he pulled away, but Will had latched onto him and wouldn’t let him go.  In his erotic fog he was fully aroused and needy, and he wanted Hannibal…now! 

“Jesus, Hannibal, you overdid the pheromones a little bit, didn’t you?” Will heard Alana say. 

“I may have, but he keeps fighting me and I was afraid he would eventually hurt himself. 

“Our child is going to be incredible,” Alana said beaming. 

Hannibal couldn’t help but agree.  A child produced by Will and his niece would be amazing.   

Hannibal held onto Will and walked him back over to the center of the basement where the blankets and pillows were.  Once again he lowered Will to his knees, but Will kept trying to turn toward Hannibal until Alana knelt before him and released her own pheromones.  He paid attention to her then and noticed that she was scratched up and bruised pretty badly. 

Frowning and touching one of the bruises, he said, “What happened to Margot?” 

“Oh, she’s out cold.  She’ll be missing all the fun tonight.”  Then she pressed her body against him and was eagerly kissing him again.  He felt Hannibal push his shoulders forward so that he went down on his hands and knees.  Alana just slid underneath him like she was expecting this.  He tried to lay down on top of her but Hannibal grabbed his hips and wouldn’t let him.  Will took one hand off the floor and put it on Alana’s breast and started kneading it.  It felt good, but he needed more. 

“Hannibal, come on, he’s getting restless,” he heard Alana say. 

And then he felt Hannibal spread his ass cheeks and press the head of his cock against his hole.  Will felt a momentary jolt of fear and confusion then and stiffened.  Wait, this wasn’t right.  Wasn’t he supposed to be breeding Alana?  Isn’t that what Bedelia had said? 

Both of their scents hit him at the same time then and he forgot what he was worried about. 

“He really is a fighter, isn’t he?” Alana said. 

“I told you,” Hannibal replied.  “Everything’s going to be all right, Will,” Hannibal said softly in that deep voice of his.  Alana was stroking his cheek with her hand and he felt Hannibal stroking his back.  Will slowly relaxed.  Feeling totally unconcerned now, he looked over to see how Beverly and Abigail were doing.  Beverly was the closest to him and he actually blinked several times while he tried to bring the whole picture into focus.  Beverly was laying on her back, but Matthew Brown was lying underneath her.  He had his arms around her playing with her breasts and nuzzling her neck.  Meanwhile Sheriff Dolarhyde was kneeling between her thighs and had her legs hooked over the tops of his shoulders while he plundered her with his mouth.  Beverly was arching and writhing and making a considerable amount of noise. 

When he glanced past Beverly to where Abigail was, all he saw was a tangle of limbs.  In fact, all the people in the room were now in pairs or groups and were going at it like rabbits in all sorts of very unusual and creative ways.  The musk that was filling the air was intoxicating, stimulating. 

In Will's pheromone-fogged brain he wanted this.  He was aroused, excited, eager. A part of him was bracing himself for Hannibal’s intrusion, expecting pain, but he was fully ready to embrace the pain.  What he had not braced himself for, though, was the wiggling, tickling feeling he suddenly felt enter his hole that nearly had him jumping out of his skin.  He had forgotten all about that extra wormlike appendage that Matthew Brown had demonstrated, but he was certainly aware of it now as it wiggled and writhed and entered his body easily, coated as it was with a thick layer of secretion. 

Will squirmed, he twisted, he arched his back, he curled his toes.  He knew he was making all sorts of inarticulate sounds.  Oh, god, the sensations that little thing was causing inside him.  It seemed to be sensitizing every nerve ending he had in there.  Holy fucking shit it felt good! 

Alana had taken him in hand and was stroking him softly while Hannibal just held himself steady at his hole.  Alana said, “He’s more than ready,” and Will realized she was talking about him.  He was breathing hard and covered in sweat, and he was so hard now it was becoming painful.  He wanted to fuck somebody, anybody, now!  Then he felt pressure as Hannibal start to push in slowly, but whatever the clever little worm-thing did, it had paved and slicked the way, and Will felt no pain, only excitement as his now tingling nerve endings welcomed this intrusion.  Not only that, the nubs all over Hannibal’s shaft were creating the most delicious friction that seemed to be just what his now tingling nerve endings craved as Hannibal pushed in deeper.  Will knew his moaning was growing louder but he couldn’t seem to help himself.  He watched as Alana grabbed a pillow off the floor and lifted her hips, bumping his cock in the process and making him cry out as sensitive and ready as he was, and then she settled the pillow under her hips so that they were elevated. 

When Hannibal was fully impaled Will heard him say, “Ready,” in a strained voice, and then Alana took hold of his cock and guided it to her entrance and then hooked her ankles around him right under his ass, that was currently full of Hannibal’s cock, and used those leg muscles of hers to pull him forward inside her.  Will could feel his eyes roll back in his head at the sensation.  Apparently the women of the species have a similar nubby texture along their vaginal walls that Bedelia had failed to mention, and, oh my, the sensation was indescribable. 

Once Alana had Will inside her all the way to his balls she removed her ankles and spread her knees wide and just waited.  Will assumed she was waiting for him to move, but he couldn’t because he was impaled on Hannibal’s shaft and Hannibal was gripping his hips.  Now what was he supposed to do?  He must have made a noise of frustration because he felt Hannibal lean over his back and whisper, “Patience, sweet William.”  Then Hannibal took a firm hold of Will’s hips and pulled himself partially out of Will while pulling Will’s hips back with him so that Will came partially out of Alana.  Then Hannibal slowly pushed back into Will and pushed Will’s hips forward so that he was once again fully sheathed in Alana.  Will looked down at Alana with her dark hair fanned around her head, her back arching, the rosy tips of her breasts pebbled, and realized that whatever Hannibal was doing was working, exciting him and Alana both, so he just totally relaxed his body and surrendered himself to Hannibal and the exquisite sensation this was causing.  It would be nice not to have to overthink everything for a change.    

Hannibal moved in and out in a slow rhythm, like a waltz.  It felt wonderful.  Will kept curling his toes and arching his back as he felt the pressure gradually build.  He was also enjoying watching Alana come apart underneath him.  She was writhing and had broken out in a sweat, her light layer of fur sticking to her body.  Will tried to pick up the pace but Hannibal had a tight grip on his hips and was in full command. 

Bedelia was still seated in her chair, with Cordell’s head now buried between her thighs, watching Hannibal, her only living child, as he moved inside Will Graham.  Bedelia had heard rumors from others that Hannibal seemed to have a strong attraction to the boy, and she saw it for herself now.  He couldn’t get enough of touching him, couldn’t take his eyes off of him.  It looked like her son had finally found a mate.  It was a shame Will was a man though as Bedelia had been looking forward to a child of Hannibal’s.  She had tried to get him to breed either Beverly or Abigail, but he had refused saying that he would rather be Will’s second.  Still, Alana was her precious Misha’s daughter and she and Will would have a stunning child.  Definitely something to look forward to.   

Will was consumed by the erotic sensory overload he was feeling below him and behind him.  At one point he was vaguely aware that Matthew Brown had come over and knelt by his head and had started running his fingers through his hair.  Will had been slightly confused because the last time he saw the man he was on the floor with Beverly draped over him.  When he glanced back over to where Beverly was, his mouth fell open and he found himself staring.  Beverly was astride Sheriff Dolarhyde riding him cowgirl style with her head thrown back and her long black hair trailing down her back.  Will was mesmerized by how fluid her hips were.  By the looks of it, the sheriff was definitely enjoying the ride.  A couple more people seemed to have joined in Abigail’s pile of naked human flesh, and there was a lot of noise coming from over there. 

Matthew Brown was stroking himself while running his fingers through Will’s hair.  At one point he started to bring his cock toward Will’s mouth, but Will felt Hannibal stop moving and he heard a growl right behind his left ear.  Matthew got up then and moved on to someone else.  Hannibal started moving inside him again and Will heard Alana say, “Pick up the pace, Hannibal!”  Yes!  That’s what he needed, more speed, more friction.  He was close … so close. 

Hannibal picked up the pace and the wonderful friction caused by those nubby little projections on Hannibal’s cock and inside of Alana were setting Will’s nerve endings on fire.  He could also feel the worm-thing, and it felt like it was vibrating with excitement as all three of them were heading toward climax. 

Will didn’t know how he’d held off climaxing for as long as he had when he felt like he was ready to explode.  He wanted to move faster, but Hannibal was still controlling the pace.  Will figured if he could get Alana to climax first it would send him over the edge.  Will could sense that Alana was close because she was writhing under him and scoring his back and sides and arms with her claws, urging him on.  Since Will couldn’t control the pace he dropped onto his elbows and took one of Alana’s breasts into his mouth and sucked on it, hard.  Alana made a strangled aaAHHH! sound, and Will felt her clench around him and scream, and those little nubby projections lining her vaginal walls almost seemed to be undulating along his shaft like the feet of a caterpillar as she orgasmed.  _FUCK THAT FELT GOOD!_

As soon as Alana screamed Hannibal suddenly wrapped his arms around Will, pinning his arms to his sides, and pulled him up so that he was now sitting upright at a 45 degree angle from the floor and bit down hard on Will’s shoulder, hard enough to break the skin, while he shifted his direction of penetration and slammed into Will, making a direct hit on his prostate.  In addition, there was three inches of little wormy-thing that was vibrating and writhing against his prostate with excitement.  Will screamed _FUCK!!_ from the shock of multiple sensations, and came seconds after Alana, clenching his throbbing muscles around Hannibal who slammed into him three more times and came right behind him. 

They all froze interconnected for several seconds, breathing heavily and riding out the aftershocks of their orgasms.  Will felt the nipplelike projections lining Alana’s vaginal walls moving and undulating all around him, and he could swear he was being milked.  He could feel heat pouring into his ass where he was connected with Hannibal.  Will was still immobilized by Hannibal’s arms around him and his teeth buried in his shoulder.  Then Will felt Hannibal remove his teeth and slowly pull out of him, and the feeling of hot semen running down the backs of his thighs.  Hannibal licked the spot where his teeth had broken the skin and Will’s felt his hips buck one more time on their own. 

Hannibal pulled Will back toward him so that he disengaged from Alana.  Alana stayed with her hips elevated on the pillow, no doubt encouraging those eager little sperm to find her egg.  Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will’s exhausted body and pulled him to the floor and curled himself around him.  He put his nose against the back of his neck and inhaled the spicy musky smell he had on his skin now after sex and committed it to memory.    

Will felt boneless and fell immediately into an exhausted sleep.  Hannibal got up on one elbow and looked down at his face in repose.  He stroked his face with the backs of his fingers and thought no work of art he had ever seen matched the beauty of this man.  Hannibal laid back down and spooned Will Graham tightly against him, feeling more contented right now than he had felt in quite a while.  He slowly drifted off to sleep as well, lulled to sleep by the feel of Will’s breathing against his chest. 

People all over the room were collapsing into exhausted heaps.  Bedelia watched the whole thing with deep contentment.  These three would be wonderful additions and make their family stronger.  She looked over at her son and smiled as she saw the possessive way he was curled around Will Graham.  At the family meeting they had discussed the sheriff’s findings about Will and Abigail, and there were those against keeping them once they found out that Will worked for the FBI, but Abigail had told Randall Tier that neither of them had told a soul where they were headed, not even the FBI, so they had been overruled.  Both of their cellphones had been confiscated and destroyed.  Looking at her son now, Bedelia was glad she had backed him up and pushed for keeping them.  “Welcome to the family,” she said softly. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for the final two chapters of Beast House. I hope you enjoy!

**_Nine-and-a-Half Months After the Initiation …_ **

“Push now, Abigail.  Push!” Bedelia said.   

Will stood off to the side pacing and biting his thumbnail while anxiously awaiting the birth of his great-niece or nephew.  Hannibal stood nearby holding Will and Alana’s son, Braedon Graham, and offering Will his support.  He was also there in case any complications should arise.  Bedelia had been midwifing the family’s babies for years now. 

Will had become a father just five days earlier.  Miriam Lass was waitressing over at the restaurant in Alana’s place, and Tobias Budge, Hannibal’s sous chef, was doing the cooking over at the restaurant today.  Will looked over at Hannibal holding his sleeping son against his chest and smiled.  He was a beautiful boy with dark curly hair.  When Will had examined the child shortly after birth, he had noticed the telltale signs that identified him as one of the descendants of the original three beasts, including the unusual genitalia.   

Will couldn’t describe the feeling he’d had watching his son being born while surrounded by a large number of the family.  He couldn’t help thinking that having the family there at the birth of each new child was a beautiful tradition that really strengthened the bonds and protective instincts they had toward each other.  

 

Initially there had been what Bedelia had called “a period of adjustment” for the three of them.  The morning after the initiation Will had awoken in the little basement room lying on a cot.  When he lifted his head he saw Abigail and Beverly also lying on cots.  Sometime during the night they had brought in two more cots for them, and after they were done using the three of them had tucked them away for the night. 

Will had felt pain everywhere.  As he tried to sit up he felt tenderness on his stomach from where Hannibal had grabbed his ankle on the stairs and he had landed painfully on his stomach; he felt pain on his back from when he twisted over on the stairs and Hannibal and pulled his ankles and he had bumped down the stairs, scraping his back against them; he felt pain on his shoulder from where Hannibal had bit him— _bit him like an animal!_ ; he knew he had bruises on his hips where Hannibal had been holding onto him tightly; and, of course, his ass hurt for obvious reasons. 

He stood up slowly, planning to go to the bathroom, and felt his stomach roil.  He ran to the bathroom and barely made it in time before emptying out the meager contents of his stomach.  He put his hands against the wall, waiting for his stomach to calm down.  He felt sticky and dirty, and their room smelled like a fucking whorehouse.  And then there was the shame.  The overwhelming shame of knowing that he had enjoyed everything that they had done to him last night.  The shame of knowing that he hadn’t been able to protect his niece.  Even knowing that the pheromones they released had acted like a drug on them didn’t ease his conscience.  He turned toward the shower and turned it on.  At least he could wash the stench of them off him.  He set the temperature to as hot as he could stand it and got in.  After about 10 minutes he felt slightly better.  He got out and wrapped a towel around his waist and went back into the main room to get some clothes.  Once he was dressed he looked over and saw that Abigail was awake. 

“How you doing, kiddo?” he asked tentatively. 

“I’m okay, Uncle Will,” she said lying on her side looking at him. 

“Abigail, sweetie, I’m so, so sorry about what happened to you last night.” 

“Not to me, Uncle Will, to us.  This just didn’t happen to me, it happened to all three of us, and none of us could have stopped what happened, so don’t beat yourself up over it.  There was nothing you could have done.  I don’t want you feeling this is your fault, because it’s not.  I need you strong right now, okay?  Don’t fall apart on me.” 

Will swallowed and nodded.  She was some brave kid.  “Okay,” he said.  “Listen, if you take a shower you’ll feel a little bit better,” he added, not knowing what else to say. 

She threw back her blanket and got up and Will quickly averted his eyes, but not before he saw the bruises and scratches on her body and felt his anger ignite. She rummaged through her garbage bag for some clean clothes and then went into the bathroom and closed the door and he heard the shower come on.  He glanced over at Beverly and she appeared to still be asleep.  Jesus, what shape was she going to be in when she woke up.  Not only did she get raped, she hadn’t even had a chance to mourn the death of her husband.  This was just a nightmare.  He started to sit down but then thought better of it.  He wouldn’t be doing much sitting today. 

After Abigail came out of the shower he saw that Bev’s eyes were open.  “Abigail, any hot water left?” 

“Yeah, whatever else you can say about these people, they have a kick-ass hot water heater.” 

“Beverly, how about a nice hot shower?  It’ll make you feel a little better.”  Beverly sat up, staring down at her lap, but didn’t say anything. 

“Here, let’s get you some clean clothes to put on.”  Will put her suitcase on his cot and opened it up.  “Would you like to pick something out?” he asked.  She just sat there looking down at her lap.  “Why don’t I pick something for you.”  He found a pair of loose cotton slacks and a t-shirt.  If she was as sore as he was she’d want something comfortable.  He awkwardly found some clean panties and a bra and added those to the pile.  He found her hairbrush and toothbrush and toothpaste and put them on top of the clothes and took them in the bathroom and sat them on the toilet seat.  Looking back she still hadn’t moved.  He started the shower up and got the water nice and warm.  “Come on Bev,” he said softly, going over to her but afraid to touch her.  “At least you can wash the smell of them off your skin.” 

She got up then and walked to the bathroom still not looking up.  She closed the door and Will listened outside the door until he finally heard the sounds of water displacement and knew she had gotten in the shower. 

While Bev was in the shower the main door opened and three people came in with food and cups of orange juice.  Bedelia walked in and looked him and Abigail over and looked at the closed door where she could hear the shower going.  She nodded her approval that they had cleaned up.  Will saw Cordell and one other man guarding the doorway.  These people were certainly careful. 

“I know this is hard to believe right now, you two, but this will get a lot easier with time.  In fact, the time will come when you’ll feel like part of the family and be released from this room,” Bedelia said. 

_Delusional_ , Will thought.  “I work for the FBI,” he said.  “They will come looking for me.  You’d do well to just cut your losses now and let us go.  It’ll go a lot easier on all of you if you do.” 

Bedelia smiled.  “We know you work for the FBI, Mr. Graham, and we also know that they have no idea where you are right now.  None.” 

“Why would you think that?” Will asked. 

“Because your niece here told Randall Tier that exact thing.  No one is looking for you.  And if they are, they have no idea where to even start.  Your niece said you were very careful and haven’t even used a credit card since you left home.  No, Mr. Graham, no one will be looking for you here in Peculiar.” 

Will looked over at Abigail, but she was looking down at her lap looking like a lost child.  He just shook his head and sighed.  He had no other cards to play. 

“As I said, Mr. Graham, it will get easier, you’ll see.  Now eat and get some rest.  You’ll want to be fresh for tonight.” 

“Tonight?” he said stunned. 

“Oh, yes, you three are going to be in demand for some time to come.”  Then she walked out, leaving a stunned Will looking after her as Cordell shut and locked the door.  Will heard Beverly sobbing in the bathroom. 

That evening the three of them tried rushing the door as soon as it was unlocked and opened, but there were at least 20 people in Bedelia’s basement and they were quickly overpowered and sedated with pheromones.  When Will saw Hannibal coming for him he felt panicked.  Surely he wasn’t thinking about taking him again.  He was so sore he could barely sit.  Hannibal must have read his mind because he said, “No, Will, I know you’re in a great deal of discomfort.  I’ll give you a couple of days to recuperate before I take you again.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t touch you.” 

And so their life took on a pattern.  They were kept locked in the room constantly and only brought out to the basement at night where they were plied senseless with pheromones and taken to new heights of ecstasy on the basement floor by one or more members of the family. 

In the beginning, only Sheriff Dolarhyde was allowed to fuck Beverly and only Randall was allowed to fuck Abigail until they had a positive pregnancy test and it was confirmed by Hannibal; and Will was not allowed to spill his seed in anyone but Alana until she was confirmed pregnant.  But after three weeks Alana was beaming and showing Will one of those pregnancy sticks with a plus sign on it, and Hannibal confirmed that she was pregnant.  Shortly thereafter Abigail and Bev were both confirmed to be pregnant as well.  After that the three of them were pretty much fair game to anyone who wanted them.  As they all found out, these people were not monogamous and they weren’t typically jealous.  Sex to them was as natural as eating, and, of course, who wants to eat the same thing every meal? 

Will realized that Hannibal came for him an inordinate amount of the time at night, but there were many, many others that wanted him as well. 

Week two a man by the name of Anthony Dimmond started paying them regular visits in their room and speaking to them about his own period of adjustment.  As it turned out, he had been the last person the family had decided to keep almost three years ago.  He had been a freelance electronics and computer consultant who had just stopped by Peculiar because someone in a neighboring town had recommended the amazing food at Hannibal’s restaurant.  While he was in the restaurant he had found himself inexplicably opening up about himself to Alana and telling her how he had been an only child raised by a single mom who had died in an automobile accident when he was 17; how as a teenager with no other family he had felt so devastated and alone.  The family had quickly decided to keep him and he hadn’t been allowed to leave.  Anthony, as it turned out, was the one who eventually set up the surveillance system in Beast House.  He told them that now, living in Peculiar, he was not only surrounded by family that loved him, but would do anything to protect him, and that was an amazing feeling after being alone for so long.  And, of course, he mentioned the sex: the mind-boggling, overwhelmingly stupefying, astonishing sex. 

After about the third week of captivity Will started noticing subtle changes in all three of them.  As the hour approached when they were usually brought out of the basement, trepidation was replaced by a sort of jittery anticipation.  There was pacing and sweating and foot jiggling.  The word “addiction” came to Will’s mind, and he strongly suspected that when Bedelia had said she was addicted to sex with her beasts that she had meant it quite literally and not figuratively.  Will strongly suspected that the descendants of the beast bloodline had a chemical in their saliva and other bodily secretions that was actually addictive to humans.  In fact, when he started paying closer attention—that is, when he wasn’t mindless with pheromones—he noticed he felt a sense of euphoria when kissing one of them. 

As the weeks went by Will could no longer deny that he enjoyed the sex.  He also felt the once solid walls of his sexuality crumbling.  He enjoyed sex with both men and women equally, and also began to like the fact that he didn’t know who, or even how many, he was going to be partnered with nightly until the time came.  He found that he was often aroused just thinking about it before they even came for him, and he could tell that Abigail felt the same way. 

But Will couldn’t deny that he started feeling a certain extra excitement whenever Hannibal came for him.  Hannibal was an amazing lover.  Will also started noticing that whenever someone else came for him that Hannibal would often join in, or sometimes he would just lean against the wall and watch while touching himself. 

However, Will was getting sick and tired of the constant use of pheromones that was stripping him of his free will.  One night about two-and-a-half months in when he was on his knees saturated in Sheriff Dolarhyde’s pheromones and the big man was pounding into him, Will suddenly realized that he still maintained a little bit of his thought process.  It was possible that he was starting to build up a bit of resistance to the pheromones.  He had enough thought process to open his empathy and feel that white static that cleared his mind a bit more.  He looked over and saw that Hannibal was watching him and stroking himself and seemed to be enjoying watching Will being ridden hard by the sheriff.  Will purposely looked up at Hannibal under lidded eyes and made eye contact while he arched his back and licked his lips provocatively and chewed on his lower lip.  He kept eye contact the whole time until he threw back his head and cried out in release, and when he looked back at Hannibal, Hannibal had a heated look on his face and come running down his fingers.  Will smiled. 

That had been a turning point for Will.  Now that he knew he had reached a point where he could resist the pheromones, he was no longer going to be a mindless, sex slave.  The next night when Hannibal came for him, as he knew he would, Will waited until he caught the first whiff of Hannibal’s pheromones and opened his empathy wide up.  He then proceeded to show Hannibal that he hadn’t been a member of the FBI because he was just a pretty face; he had claws and teeth of his own.  When Hannibal started to push him down to the ground Will caught him off guard and shoved him face first against a wall and pressed his body up against his, giving him a taste of what he had experienced in Hannibal’s apartment shoved against the door, and told him he’d better never use his pheromones on him again or else.  The two men then proceeded to fight for sexual dominance, and there wasn’t a square inch of the basement they hadn’t covered by the time it was over, including Will draped on those steps again.  After a solid 20 minutes both men were lying in an exhausted, tangled heap in the middle of the basement, and they were both bruised, scratched, bleeding, breathing hard and covered in sweat, blood and come.  When Will finally caught his breath and looked around, he noticed then that they had gained quite a large audience who were just standing around watching the two of them with awed expressions on their faces—including Abigail and Randall, Will was embarrassed to note. 

“Damn, Uncle Will,” Abigail said, “I’m sorry I ever called you old.  You’re not old at all.  You’re quite the stud,” she said. 

Will just blushed red and shook his head.  There was no such thing as privacy or modesty down in Bedelia’s basement.  After that, though, Hannibal never used his pheromones on Will again.  Nor did anyone else. 

Will was allowed to impregnate two other women of the family.  Will found out that all the females were on birth control (courtesy of Hannibal, the doctor) and any woman wanting a baby had to petition and get approval from Bedelia.  This kept the birth rate under control and kept the bloodlines from getting too close. 

One happy result from Margo challenging Alana was that Bedelia was so pissed about the challenge that she refused to approve a child for Margot sired by Will.  In fact, she ordered Margot to stay away from Will as punishment for her rude behavior. 

Abigail had adapted the quickest and was released from the basement after only five weeks.  Will suspected that she had already had a crush on Randall Tier before any of this happened, and he remembered that she had asked about possibly living here. 

Will was released after five months.  He had to admit that not only was he addicted to the sex now, but he enjoyed the feeling of always being surrounded by a large, protective family.  Even after he was released he still visited Bedelia’s basement on a regular basis.  However, he had moved in with Hannibal, and at the end of the day he was always in Hannibal’s bed, wrapped in Hannibal’s arms. 

But even after nine-and-a-half months Beverly still hadn’t adjusted.  She still mourned the death of her husband and son.  Their deaths had both been too new and too raw for her to get over quickly.    And although she couldn’t help but enjoy the sex, she always felt guilty afterwards. 

 

Will came back to himself when he heard an especially loud scream from Abigail and heard Bedelia announce, “It’s a girl!”  Will heard happy muttering from the surrounding group.  He stepped closer to get a better look at his great-niece as she was being cleaned up, and smiled as he thought she looked a lot like Abigail as a baby. 

Randall Tier was standing by Abigail’s side looking ready to burst.  This was his first child as well. 

The only thing putting a damper on Will’s current happiness was Bev.  She had been locked in that basement room for over nine months now, and instead of adjusting she just seemed to grow more and more despondent.  She had given birth to a beautiful baby girl with black hair two days ago, and Will had been thrilled it was a girl.  A boy might have reminded her too much of her dead son.  However, she had refused to touch her baby or feed her.  Alana had been feeding her along with her own baby, and Will had started hearing comments indicating that the family was now thinking about eliminating Bev and letting someone else raise her child.  They had thought that once Bev’s child was born it might turn her around, and Will had hoped the same thing, but she had refused all contact with her baby. 

She had also let herself go.  She didn’t shower, or even comb her hair.  Surprisingly the sheriff seemed to have a soft spot for Bev, and Will would often find him brushing her hair and talking softly to her, or washing her or trying to coax her into eating something, and she didn’t resist him.  And, of course, with the help of the pheromones she had continued to enjoy the nightly sex that had continued up until her seventh month when Bedelia declared her off-limits.  But, of course, the fact that she enjoyed the sex, even though it was against her will, made her even more depressed because she felt like she was betraying her husband.   

Will didn’t want to lose Bev.  He had something in mind to try and prayed that it would work.  It might be Bev’s last chance. 

The next morning he visited Bev in her locked room in the basement.  She sat on the cot with her back against the wall and wouldn’t look at him.  He laid a thick blanket on the cot next to her and then lay her child upon it.  The baby was just wearing a diaper.  The baby started fretting as soon as Will laid her down.  The room was a bit chilly and Will knew it was also her feeding time.  Then Will said to Bev, “She really is a beautiful child, Bev.  I see so much of you in her.”  And then he left the room and closed the door and said a quick prayer. 

He stayed outside the door and paced.  The baby started crying shortly after he left.  Her cries turned into full out wailing that seemed to go on forever while Will continued walking back and forth in front of the door.  He saw others passing by giving disapproving looks at the door and at him for allowing the child to go unattended.  After 15 minutes of crying Will was despairing that his plan was going to fail.  He had been so sure that with no one else to take care of her child’s needs that Bev’s maternal instincts would kick in, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen. 

He leaned against the wall and scrubbed his hands over his face wondering what else he could possibly try when he heard the child’s cries abruptly stop.  He froze.  Was it possible that Bev had finally picked up her child?  He didn’t want to get his hopes up.  It was just as likely the child had finally stopped crying out of exhaustion.  He got down on his knees and peeked through the keyhole and held his breath as the picture before him came into focus.  Bev was holding her child as it suckled at her breast, and she was stroking her cubby little cheek.  She had tears trailing down her face.  Will felt intense relief and had tears trailing down his own cheeks as well. 

He waited 15 minutes and then went and got Abigail and her baby, and then took his own baby from Alana.  He knew Bev felt more comfortable around Abigail and him because they had all come into this together from outside the community. 

Will opened the door and he and Abigail entered.  Bev was sitting on the cot and softly rocking her body to lull her baby to sleep.  He and Abigail sat next to her on the cot, and Will and Abigail just talked back and forth about mostly baby stuff, not trying to engage Bev but hoping she would join in.  Bev had been a mother before so Will purposely made a couple of really outlandish baby comments knowing that Bev would be hard pressed not to correct him.  After a while Bev joined in the conversation.  Later that day Bev gave her baby a bath, and decided she needed one as well while she was at it.  The entire family gave a collective sigh of relief as Bev finally started to become part of the community.  Bev eventually named her baby Sooni, an old Japanese name meaning new beginnings.  She was released from the basement a month later. 

*     *     *

Beverly had been a fashion and jewelry designer and had owned a small boutique back in New York, so she started designing again and eventually opened a small shop in town funded by proceeds of Beast House.  The tourists loved the uniqueness of her clothes and jewelry. 

Will had not missed working for the FBI.  That job had been stressful and he was much more relaxed now.  He got a job teaching at the high school in the next town over.  He and Hannibal continued to live together and he enjoyed the feeling of sleeping wrapped in the man’s arms.  He often awoke in the morning to that little worm appendage poking him in his backside, and he had to admit he’d grown rather fond of the little guy. 

Abigail had given up wanting to become a veterinarian because there were no dogs or cats in Peculiar.  Animals of all kinds seemed to steer clear of there.  She instead went to a nearby school where she learned the art of tattooing and designed a line of original Beast tattoos.  At Sheriff Dolarhyde's request she designed a beast tattoo that encompassed his entire back.  It was truly a work of art that unfortunately only the family got to see.  However, her tattoos started gaining a lot of attention when a model passing through town spotted her artwork in the window of her shop and got one of her tattoos on his bicep.  He was later featured shirtless in a photo spread in _Cosmopolitan_ where Abigail got a mention and was credited for the tattoo.  After that a lot of young people started stopping by Peculiar to get an _Abigail Original_.  And, of course, while they were there they visited Beast House.  With Bev’s help Abigail also designed a line of edgy Beast jewelry made out of leather and assorted metals that were a big seller at the souvenir shop.   

After being with Randall Tier for a little over a year Abigail decided she needed to be with a more mature man and moved in with Matthew Brown.  Matthew had petitioned Bedelia to have a child with Abigail next, and Abigail gave birth to a baby boy 12 months after the birth of her daughter.  


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for the conclusion of BEAST HOUSE.

**EPILOGUE**

 

**_Four Years after the Initiation …_ **

“Okay, are you ready to do this?” Will asked. 

“I’m not sure.  I’ll never be as good as Bedelia.” 

“Oh, come on, we rehearsed this and you were great.  Bedelia is too old to be doing this any longer, especially with her bad hip, and she’s really looking forward to you taking over.  She chose you above all others to take her place.  I think she's grooming you to take over as matriarch of the family once she's gone. She’s come to love you like a daughter, you know.” 

“I know, and I love her too, but I’m just afraid I won’t be any good and I’ll disappoint her.” 

“Well, I think you may be even better, Will encouraged.  “You have lost family to the ‘Beast’ just as she did and can intrigue the audience with your story and draw upon their sympathies.  I actually think you’ll do a better job because Bedelia had become rather callus in her descriptions, especially when it came to the deaths of her own children.” 

“Four years ago, when we first came to this town, if someone had said I’d be hosting tours at the infamous Beast House I would have said they were crazy.” 

“You’ve come so far in the last four years.  We both have.  I’m really proud of you.  Just remember that I’ll be tagging along acting like one of the tourists if you need help with anything.”  Then Will gave her a big hug of encouragement. 

“Okay, well, here goes,” she said smiling nervously.  She was wearing black dress slacks and a dressy blouse with long sleeves and a high neck, the better to hide the hickeys and scratches and bruises that were a normal part of her body now.  She knew Alana would take good care of her two children while she was away. 

Will watched her walk up to the crowd of people who were milling around outside anxiously waiting for the tour to start.  He shifted the front of his pants discretely.  He was having a hard time getting used to the newest addition to his anatomy that had appeared just this week.  Will had awoken a couple of days ago to the feeling of movement in his boxers that had him freaking out and jumping out of bed, until he had taken a look and found his very own little worm-like appendage peeking out.  He had been speechless.  Hannibal had already left for the restaurant, as he started work at 5:00 in the morning, so Will had gone to Anthony Dimmond and asked him why he hadn’t warned him to expect this. Anthony had looked stunned and said that that hadn’t happened to him.  Later on that night Hannibal had been equally stunned with Will's little surprise.  Will could only assume that his body was undergoing some sort of change from the chemicals in the beast bloodline that he had been absorbing over the last four years.  Since Will was with Hannibal and Hannibal was a first generation son of Adam, it's possible that's why he was being affected more strongly.  He wondered if there would be any other changes.

He scanned the crowd, his protective instincts on high alert, looking for any potential threat to a member of his family.  His eyes suddenly came to rest on a young, beautiful woman in the group.  She was standing a little off to the side and appeared to be by herself.  He raised his head and scented the air in her direction and felt himself getting aroused.  Looking at her he thought she would make a wonderful addition to the family.  After the tour maybe he would chat her up, turn on the charm and see if he could find out more about her.  The family hadn’t been able to keep anyone new in over four years now.  He smiled and licked his lips in anticipation.    

His eyes turned back to the front as he heard the tour start.  

“Hello, everyone, I will be your guide today."

Will was amused to hear her speaking in a low, husky voice as she tried to imitate the reverent way that Bedelia spoke.  

“As I take you through the house I will describe the atrocities committed by the beast that has roamed Beast House for over 60 years now, yet eluded capture.  To date the beast has taken the lives of 14 people, including the life of the infamous killer Garrett Jacob Hobbs, also known as the Minnesota Shrike.  Four years ago the beast took the life of my son, and then shortly thereafter my husband.  My name is Beverly Chilton, and Welcome to Beast House.”

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes the story of BEAST HOUSE. If I intrigued you, surprised you, disturbed you, freaked you out, creeped you out, grossed you out, or even pissed you off, at least I didn’t bore you. Thanks for all your comments and kudos. And for those of you who enjoyed the story but haven’t hit that kudo button yet, now’s the time to send me some love and affection. 
> 
> If you enjoyed this story you may want to check out the very first story I ever wrote called "The Hunt." This is EvilAdmin, out!


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